EU Imposes $140M Fine on X for Misleading Blue Checks, Opaque Ads and Blocking Researchers

European Commission Fines X $140 Million Over DSA Violations

The European Commission on Dec. 5 announced a $140 million fine against X for multiple breaches of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA). This is the first enforcement decision under the 2022 law, which aims to strengthen user protections, platform transparency and researcher access to data.

What the Commission found

The Commission concluded that X: (1) allowed users to buy the platform’s blue "verified" checkmark without meaningful identity verification, (2) failed to make advertising information sufficiently transparent and accessible via its ad repository, and (3) imposed unnecessary barriers on researchers seeking access to public data. Together, these practices were judged to undermine user rights and accountability under the DSA.

"Deceiving users with blue checkmarks, obscuring information on ads and shutting out researchers have no place online in the EU. With the DSA's first non-compliance decision, we are holding X responsible for undermining users' rights and evading accountability," said Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy.

The Commission noted that X's blue check historically signaled that accounts—often celebrities, companies or public figures—had been vetted. After Elon Musk acquired the platform in October 2022, X began charging users for the blue check and allowed paid subscribers to obtain the mark without robust identity checks, the regulator said. The Commission warned this practice increases the risk of impersonation, scams and fraud.

In July 2024 the EU executive published preliminary findings from its probe. While the DSA does not require platforms to implement verification systems, it does prohibit platforms from falsely claiming a user has been verified when no meaningful verification took place.

Ad Repository And Research Access

The regulator found X's advertisement repository lacked key information and was not sufficiently accessible. Design choices and access barriers—including long processing delays—were said to undermine the repository’s purpose, with missing details such as ad content, topics and payer information that are necessary to detect fake or fraudulent advertising.

Separately, the Commission concluded X's procedures for researchers to access public data imposed unnecessary hurdles, hindering independent study of systemic risks within the EU.

Next Steps And Context

X has 60 days to explain how it will remedy the verification (blue-check) problem, and 90 days to submit an action plan addressing the advertising transparency and researcher-access issues. Elon Musk has not publicly commented on the fine. U.S. Senator J.D. Vance posted on X before the public announcement criticizing the EU's action as an attack on free speech and U.S. companies.

The $140 million penalty is smaller than recent antitrust fines the Commission handed down in April—$583 million for Apple and $233 million for Meta—though it is notable as the DSA's first formal penalty.