"Non-transparent and manipulative": EU criticises X-Chaos

Last year, the EU Commission initiated an investigation against X. Billionaire Elon Musk's social media platform is accused of using dark patterns - the manipulation of users - and not moderating its content enough. This violates the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) - and has now been largely confirmed.

Blue tick marks deceive users

One of the three points criticised concerns the blue tick next to the account name on X. On most social media platforms, this is a sign that the account is a "verified" account. In other words, a person who is in the public eye. In this way, the platform operators want to prevent fake accounts from being created. With X, on the other hand, you can buy these hooks for just under 10 francs per month. There is therefore no verification process, as with Instagram, for example. This is what is known as a dark pattern.

Intransparent advertising

Another point of the DSA concerns advertising. Platform operators must provide a database containing information on the adverts shown. X apparently does not fulfil these requirements. It takes ages to download the data records. This is unacceptable. In addition, the data records are incomplete. This makes it difficult to search for problems with advertising and creates a lack of transparency, according to the EU.

Data access for researchers is inadequate

For the purpose of research, platforms must provide access to data via the platform itself. Access must be provided via a specially designed interface. X does not adhere to this to a sufficient extent. Firstly, X's terms and conditions prohibit the mass retrieval of data from the website - i.e. so-called "scraping". In addition, X charges "disproportionately high fees" for this.

For data access, researchers must also undergo verification. According to EU projectors, the system for this does not work properly. Moreover, if the researchers come from Europe, the verification process is not transparent and sometimes takes several months.

Disinformation continues to be investigated

There have already been several meetings with the operators of X. Even after these meetings and discussions with technical experts, it was confirmed that X does not comply with the rules. Proceedings are also currently pending regarding disinformation - popularly known as "fake news" - and illegal content in general. It is suspected that X is not taking enough action against targeted misinformation, for example regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine or other topics. However, the EU Commission is making progress, as it says itself, but the investigation is not yet complete.

Musk rages back

X now has the right of defence. However, if the EU Commission's impression does not change afterwards, X will be fined heavily - and further conditions will be imposed on the operation of the platform in Europe, according to EU Commissioner Thierry Breton. The fine could amount to up to six per cent of annual global turnover. For Twitter, that would be around 204 million US dollars.

Musk, meanwhile, said on X that the EU Commission had offered the platform an "illegal secret contract". Freedom of expression is to be censored in order to avoid punishment. X rejects this, however. He looks forward to the legal proceedings, which will ensure that "the citizens of Europe will know the truth". <p