EU won't be paying Elon Musk for Twitter verification plan

This month, Twitter is launching its new paid-verification programme, but the institutions of the European Union (EU) are avoiding the contentious blue checks.

According to the press services of the institution, the European Commission and European Parliament do not currently have any plans to pay Twitter to have the hundreds of official EU accounts they have verified through the "Twitter Blue" program, including those of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Parliament President Roberta Metsola, verified.

Twitter announced this month that it will eliminate the legacy blue checks that once verified the legitimacy of prominent figures' accounts, including journalists, government officials, and journalists' sources, in reversing a prior policy that attempted to reduce misinformation. Any users may soon be able to subscribe and pay in order to receive the once-desired blue tick.

The proposal, which was revealed in November 2022 after Elon Musk purchased the site, has raised concerns that it may lead to an increase in bogus accounts and phoney messages. The EU's General Data Protection Regulation may be violated by the paid-verification initiative, Irish privacy director Helen Dixon said in March, reported Politico.

Twitter has granted the majority of the 175 official Commission accounts a grey checkmark after delivering a list of more than 350 accounts of eligible EU institutions officials and organisations in February, a Commission spokesman said.

The majority of the 60 accounts for the Parliament press services received the grey checkmark designating government accounts. The White House in the United States has previously stated that it will not choose the new blue-check programme.

Asked for comment by Politico, Twitter’s press email address responded with a poop emoji.