Musk’s X misleads users with blue checks, EU charges

BRUSSELS, Belgium: Tech billionaire Elon Musk´s X platform is deceiving users with its blue checkmarks for certified accounts, and is also violating EU content rules, Brussels said on Friday, in a finding that could lead to hefty fines.

EU regulators are unhappy with changes Musk made to the blue badge system since anyone can now obtain it via a premium subscription, whereas previously it was reserved for verified accounts including leaders, companies and journalists, and subject to approval.

Musk overhauled the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, including changing its name, after purchasing it in October 2022.

But his plans for X have put him at odds with Brussels since the EU wants big tech to do more to protect users online and increase competition in the digital sphere.

Now, the European Commission has informed X of its preliminary view that it is “in breach” of the bloc´s Digital Services Act (DSA), arguing that the social network “deceives” users with its new blue badge rules.

“Since anyone can subscribe to obtain such a ´verified´ status, it negatively affects users´ ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of the accounts and the content they interact with,” the commission said in a statement.

“There is evidence of motivated malicious actors abusing the ´verified account´ to deceive users,” it added.