X is not a gatekeeper: bitter victory for Musk

The EU's Digital Markets Act is intended to prevent particularly large tech companies, so-called gatekeepers, from gaining too much market power. However, X is not one of them, even though the service would qualify for this in economic terms.

As the EU Commission announced yesterday, the social media service does not fulfil all the requirements to be considered a gatekeeper. The investigation was launched after the company made multiple efforts to avoid being placed on the "gatekeeper list".

The fact that X is now actually not a gatekeeper should please owner Elon Musk, as it saves the company from having to fulfil certain obligations. However, the reason for this is not a happy one for X: In the media release, the authority is quoted as follows:

"After careful consideration of all the arguments, including articles from relevant stakeholders, and after consulting the Advisory Committee on Digital Markets, the Commission concluded that X does not indeed qualify as a gatekeeper in relation to its online social networking service".

In short, according to the Commission's investigation, X is not relevant enough when it comes to how companies engage with their customers. However, this would also have advantages for X, as it would ensure more users, more interaction and therefore greater attractiveness for (paying) advertisers.

X is not off the hook with the Digital Services Act

X's role as a so-called VLOP, short for "very large online platform", is not affected by this verdict. This is the term used to describe tech companies that have to comply with the stricter rules of the Digital Services Act.

In contrast to the DMA, the focus of the DSA is on the handling of its content and services. A VLOP must demonstrably go to great lengths when it comes to content moderation. In the past, X has been criticised several times in this area - for example, the moderation of illegal content or fake news is said to have been too lax.