EU accuses X of deceiving users with blue checkmark Sparking Musk's outrage

The European Union has charged Elon Musk's social media company X with violating EU online content regulations, alleging that its blue checkmark misleads users.

This ruling, under the Digital Services Act (DSA), follows a seven-month investigation and could result in significant fines and operational changes, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

The EU's preliminary findings accuse X of employing dark patterns to shape user behavior, lacking transparency in advertising, and restricting researcher access to data.

X disputes the EU's assessment, with Musk threatening legal action and claiming the EU offered an illegal deal to censor speech, a claim denied by EU industry chief Thierry Breton.

The Commission contends that X's blue checkmark misleads users about account authenticity and that the platform fails to provide searchable ad information as required by the DSA. If found guilty, X could face fines up to 6 per cent of its global revenue. Separate investigations into illegal content dissemination and disinformation measures on X are ongoing.