The European Commission Is Investigating Violations by Social Network X of the EU "Digital Services" Law

The European Commission has initiated an official investigation to document breaches by social network X of the EU "Digital Services" law, particularly in areas related to content moderation and advertising transparency. 

This was stated in the official announcement from the European Commission.

“On the basis of the preliminary investigation conducted so far, including on the basis of an analysis of the risk assessment report submitted by X in September, X's Transparency report published on 3 November, and X's replies to a formal request for information, which, among others, concerned the dissemination of illegal content in the context of Hamas' terrorist attacks against Israel, the Commission has decided to open formal infringement proceedings against X under the Digital Services Act”,- the European Commission's statement said.

Additionally, in its investigation, the European Commission plans to assess compliance with norms to prevent further dissemination of illegal content in EU countries. This includes risk assessments and preventive measures that the company should have applied to counter this.

Furthermore, the investigation will also examine the effectiveness of measures that social network X employs to combat misinformation. This includes the use of the so-called "Community Notes" feature, allowing users to "provide context" under a post, image, or video. X claims that the main purpose of this feature is community content moderation.

The European Commission's investigation will also touch on the "deceptive" design of the blue checkmark – a paid feature that any X user can purchase. According to the creators of X, the blue checkmark designates a user as an "active, prominent, and authentic" member of the platform.

It is worth noting that this is the first such investigation in history initiated by the European Commission to ensure compliance with the first pan-European Digital Services Act, which came into force in fall 2023.

Last month, the European Commission called on all executive services of the European Union to refrain from launching advertisements on social network X by Elon Musk due to concerns about the spread of misinformation.

At the same time, IT company IBM announced its withdrawal from X's advertising space after the social network placed advertisements for the company alongside posts praising Hitler and Nazism.

Later, it became known that American giant companies such as Apple, Disney, Comcast, Warner Brothers Discovery, Paramount Telecom, and Lionsgate studios are also suspending their advertising contracts with X.