The European Commission has opened a formal investigation into Musk X on Monday, accusing the company of failing to combat the spread of false information and illegal content on its platform. This is the first investigation of its kind by the European Union under new legislation targeting social media companies.
Key Facts
The investigation will assess whether Musk X has violated the Digital Services Act (DSA), which imposes penalties on companies that fail to stop the spread of harmful content.
Lawmakers will examine Musk X’s efforts to reduce the “spread of illegal content” on its platform, how it tackles information manipulation—specifically the effectiveness of Musk X’s community feedback system, a collective fact-checking attempt—and how it increases transparency for data researchers.
An official from the European Commission told the Wall Street Journal that lawmakers are concerned about how the community feedback works in the EU, including how content is moderated in different languages.
Lawmakers will also investigate whether Musk X has a “misleading design” for its user interface, including the company’s blue verification checks, which were previously granted to trusted and verified accounts but are now tied to subscription plans.
The investigation was launched under the Digital Services Act following the initial inquiry, and the European Commission stated that it has analyzed the risk assessment report prepared by Musk X, the transparency report published by the company in November, and Musk X’s responses to official information requests.
The European Commission noted that there is no deadline for the investigation, indicating that it will continue to collect evidence.
A Surprising Fact
Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, stated that the investigation into Musk X means that “the time for big internet platforms to act as if they are ‘too big to care’ is over.”
What to Watch For
If Musk X is found to have violated the Digital Services Act, the platform could be suspended and fined up to 6% of its total global annual revenue. Failure to respond or providing incorrect or incomplete or misleading information could result in fines of up to 5% of the company’s daily global revenue.
Main Background
The European Commission announced in October that it had sent a formal request to Musk X for information regarding “illegal content and false information” being circulated on the platform. Breton also warned the company that sanctions could be imposed, after initial findings indicated that Musk X is being used to spread false information and violent posts related to the Israel-Hamas conflict. The request was linked to Musk X’s compliance with the Digital Services Act, which requires online platforms like Musk X to mitigate the risks of false information and remove hate speech. In response to the information request, Musk stated that the EU has not provided the company with “any examples” of alleged false information or violent content circulating on the platform.
Further Reading
EU investigation into Musk X over handling of false information concerning Israel and Hamas
EU investigation into Musk X over handling of illegal content and false information
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