Social media platform X — formerly Twitter — was fined €120 million by the European Commission on December 5, 2025. The fine stems from multiple breaches of the bloc’s digital regulations under the Digital Services Act (DSA), marking the first non-compliance penalty under the law.
What Went Wrong — Transparency Violations by X
According to the Commission, X committed several serious violations:
- The “blue checkmark” system — which lets users pay to get verified — was labelled a “deceptive design”. The badge misled users into believing accounts were verified for authenticity, even when no meaningful identity check was done.
- X failed to maintain a proper advertising repository. The ad archive lacked essential information — such as who paid for ads, content details, and targeting data — undermining transparency and enabling potential scams or misuse.
- The platform blocked researchers and public-interest investigators from accessing essential public data (views, likes, ad metadata), violating DSA obligations to allow external scrutiny of large platforms.
Because of these, the Commission decided to impose the fine and gave X strict deadlines: 60 working days to address the blue-check issue and 90 working days to fix ad transparency and data-access lapses — failing which further penalties may follow.
Significance — First Ever Enforcement under the DSA
This is the first enforcement action under the DSA, which came into effect to impose stricter accountability on large digital platforms operating in the EU.
By penalizing X, the EU sends a strong signal: even major global platforms won’t get a free pass — compliance with transparency, data-access, and design-integrity rules is mandatory.
Reaction & Broader Implications
- The fine triggered sharp criticism from U.S. political figures. For instance, a senior American official described the penalty as an attack on American tech firms and free speech.
- The outcome may reshape how global platforms approach design decisions (e.g. “blue checkmarks”), ad transparency, data sharing — especially when active in the EU.
- For users and researchers, the ruling reinforces the importance of transparency and accountability in social-media platforms. More platforms may now be incentivized to open their ad data and account-authenticity systems.
- For regulators worldwide, this precedent may encourage tougher enforcement — and similar laws may emerge beyond Europe to govern big-tech transparency globally.
What Happens Next — Compliance & Watchpoints
- X must submit a plan within 60–90 working days to fix the violations — if they fail, they risk periodic further penalties and possibly stricter enforcement under DSA. Digital Strategy
- Researchers, watchdogs and EU regulators will likely monitor how X implements these changes, especially around ad-repository transparency and public data access.
- Other large platforms operating in the EU — especially those with paid verification or heavy ad traffic — may pre-emptively review compliance to avoid similar fines.
- The incident may also intensify debates between EU regulators and U.S. tech firms, possibly influencing future global digital-policy standards.
Conclusion
The €120 million fine imposed by the European Commission on X marks a landmark moment — the first major enforcement under the Digital Services Act. The ruling underscores that transparency, honest design and data access are non-negotiable for platforms operating in the EU. For X and other global tech firms, compliance isn’t optional: it’s now a regulatory requirement.
