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Elon Musk’s social media site X has been accused by the European Union of breaching its online content rules, with its “verified” blue tick accounts having the potential to “deceive” users.<\/p>\n
The bloc’s tech regulator said users could be duped into thinking the identity of those with blue tick marks was verified, when in fact anybody can pay for a blue tick. It said it had found evidence of “malicious actors” abusing the system.<\/p>\n
The investigation began under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). <\/p>\n
It could lead to X being fined up to 6% of its global annual turnover and being forced to change how it operates in the bloc. <\/p>\n
Mr Musk reacted angrily: “The DSA is misinformation,” he wrote on X<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n The billionaire, who bought the platform for $44bn in 2022, said the DSA rules amounted to “censored speech” which he said he found unacceptable<\/a>.<\/p>\n X chief executive Linda Yaccarino also defended the company’s practices. <\/p>\n “A democratised system, allowing everyone across Europe to access verification, is better than just the privileged few being verified,” she wrote on the social media site. <\/p>\n The findings follow a seven month investigation under the DSA. <\/p>\n The law, which was introduced in 2022, requires big tech firms, like X, to take action to stop illegal content and safeguard the public.<\/p>\n ByteDance’s TikTok, AliExpress and Meta Platforms are also being investigated under the act<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Commission said its review of X had found a lack of transparency around advertising and that X did not provide data for research use as required under EU rules.<\/p>\n