Regulation
Crypto Community Stunned As Elon Musk Shuns X Censorship
According to a recent report, Elon Musk’s social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), turned down an offer from the European Commission to avoid fines for censoring speech without the knowledge of users. While other platforms accepted this deal, X decided to remain firm and thus faced increased regulatory pressure.
Elon Musk Accuses EU Commission
Elon Musk has accused the European Commission of providing an unlawful hidden agreement to X and other platforms. Musk said that the Commission suggested that if X silently censored speech without letting people know, they would not be fined. This is an aspect of the ongoing regulatory conflict between X and the European Union.
The European Commission offered 𝕏 an illegal secret deal: if we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us.
The other platforms accepted that deal.
𝕏 did not. https://t.co/4lKsaRsYoA
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2024
Furthermore, earlier in today’s proceedings, the European Commission alleged that X had breached several fundamental principles of the DSA. Some of these are dark patterns, lack of adequate advertising transparency, and restricted data availability to researchers among others.
The Commission’s investigation established that X’s interface for the verified accounts with the “Blue checkmark” is deceptive because anyone can subscribe for the verified status, thus, the users can be easily misled regarding the account’s credibility.
X also received more criticism for its failure to offer a stable advertisement repository that makes it difficult for users and researchers to monitor and analyze the risks that come with online advertising. The platform’s terms of service do not allow eligible researchers to directly engage with the public data set; this discourages important work because of cost and additional barriers.
Preliminary Findings and Potential Consequences
The European Commission has advised X that it has concerns that the platform is in violation of the DSA. These findings are based on the research that involves examining internal company documents and interviewing industry experts. X can now defend itself by reviewing the investigation file and submitting a written response to the findings of the Commission.
If the Commission’s findings are upheld, X could be subjected to penalties of up to 6% of its total turnover in the preceding fiscal year. Also, the platform might be obliged to take actions to respond to the breaches that took place and the platform could be subjected to an intensified supervision period to meet the requirements of the DSA. The commission also has the power of the periodic penalty payments in order to ensure compliance with the rules.
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market stated that the DSA is based on the principle of transparency and all platforms including X must adhere to the EU laws to protect users’ trust and safety.
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