Platform X has been fined €120 million by the European Commission for violating the Digital Services Act (DSA). This is the first time a fine has been imposed under this law. The company is being fined for the misleading nature of its "blue ticks," a lack of transparency in its advertising registry, and inadequate access to public data for researchers.
Account authenticity, accessible and searchable ad registries, and access to public data are important for detecting fraud, hybrid threat campaigns, coordinated information operations, and fake ads. This is also important in the context of elections.
The DSA is a European law that imposes obligations on online service providers with the aim of making the internet safer and more reliable. The Autoriteit Consument & Markt ACM) supervises online service providers based in the Netherlands. The largest online platforms and search engines (known as VLOPs and VLOSE) are supervised by the European Commission. Dutch users can report violations to the ACM, even if these platforms are not based in our country. As coordinator, ACM forwards these reports to other national regulators in the member states or to the European Commission. This enables them to take effective action, as in this investigation into X. Companies that violate the rules can be fined up to 6 percent of their global turnover.
Last July, the European Commission already published a preliminary report. Because the platform has not taken appropriate measures in the meantime, the Commission is now imposing a fine on X.
The "blue ticks"—the "authenticity mark" for accounts on X—are misleading for users, according to the Commission. Anyone can obtain such a check mark for a fee, without any actual verification of who is behind the account. This makes it difficult for users to adequately assess the authenticity of accounts and the content distributed on them. Malicious parties can easily impersonate someone else or a company and thus mislead users. Although the DSA does not require user verification, online platforms are not allowed to claim that users have been verified when in reality no verification has taken place.
The Commission considers that X does not comply with the rules on advertising transparency because the platform does not provide a searchable and reliable advertising register. Essential information is also often missing from the register, such as the content and subject of the advertisement, as well as who paid for it. In addition, according to the Commission, X does not comply with the DSA obligation to give researchers access to public data.
X has 60 working days to inform the Commission of the specific measures it will take to end the infringement relating to the misleading use of blue ticks. For the other two infringements, the platform has 90 working days to come up with an action plan. If it fails to do so, it risks periodic penalty payments.
Earlier this year, the Commission shared its preliminary findings with TikTok regarding its failure to comply with its obligations relating to the advertising register. In the meantime, the platform has made binding commitments that address the concerns raised by the Commission. TikTok will therefore not be fined. The Commission will closely monitor the platform's implementation of these measures in the near future.
TikTok will ensure that information about advertisements is available within 24 hours and will make targeting criteria selected by advertisers and aggregated user data available to researchers. This will allow researchers to see how advertisements are targeted and displayed. In addition, TikTok will introduce search options and filters, making it easier for users to find advertisements. In December 2024, the European Commission also launched an investigation into TikTok due to risks related to elections and public debate. The investigation is still ongoing.
