Overview
- Brussels found X’s paid blue check design misleading, cited gaps in its ad library, and flagged failure to grant vetted researchers access to public data.
- This is the first formal sanction under the DSA, with separate investigations into illegal content and disinformation still open.
- EU digital chief Henna Virkkunen said the decision concerns transparency rather than censorship and described the amount as proportionate.
- The DSA allows fines up to 6% of global annual turnover, and officials said the calculation weighed the nature, gravity, and duration of the breaches.
- U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance criticized the move and received thanks from Elon Musk, while X did not immediately comment.