The EU has completed an investigation into Elon Musk's X platform: It seems that a million-dollar fine is being prepared
The European Commission has completed an investigation into social network X (formerly Twitter) and, according to the German newspaper Handelsblatt, is preparing to impose a fine of millions of euros.
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This is yet another example of the EU's tightening control over tech giants, which already include Apple, Meta, Google and Microsoft.
Citing three high-ranking officials, Handelsblatt notes that the investigation into X concerns violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The main problem is the lack of transparency in advertising campaigns on the platform. In particular, X has not created a sufficiently detailed archive of advertisers and their campaigns, as required by the DSA.
If violations are confirmed, X could be fined up to 6% of its global revenue. This could have a significant impact on the company's operations in Europe and give it a choice: either to pay the fine and make the necessary changes, or even to leave the EU market completely.
X's headquarters in San Francisco, California. Image: REUTERS
The investigation was initiated in December 2023. The EU demanded that the company provide access to internal documents, including the platform's algorithms, to find out whether they were adapted to the DSA requirements.
Meanwhile, Europe has already had an impact on other tech companies. For example, TikTok has received complaints in Austria over the transfer of European users' data to China, which violates European privacy standards.
Recently, the European Commission (EC) requested information from Elon Musk about the algorithms that determine the content recommended to users on the X platform.
Source: Reuters
