Overview
- EU regulators found X violated transparency rules through deceptive paid blue checkmarks, an inadequate advertising repository, and restrictions on researchers’ access to public data.
- The fine is split into €45 million for the blue‑check system, €35 million for advertising‑transparency failures, and €40 million for denying researcher access.
- X has 60 working days to outline fixes to the blue‑check design and 90 working days for advertising and research‑access remedies, with periodic penalty payments possible for non‑compliance.
- Separate investigations into X’s handling of illegal content, information manipulation and content moderation remain ongoing and could result in further action.
- U.S. officials including Vice President JD Vance criticized the decision, the Commission said the case concerns transparency rather than censorship, and TikTok avoided a fine after offering binding ad‑transparency commitments.