EU fines X 120 million euros in first Digital Services Act content case

The decision cites three areas of breach: the paid‑verification badge design that the Commission said misled users; insufficient data access for vetted researchers; and shortcomings in X’s public advertising repository.

According to the Commission’s notice, X must submit a plan within 60 days detailing measures to remedy the breaches and has 90 days to implement them once approved. Failure to comply could trigger additional penalties under the DSA, which allows fines of up to 6% of a platform’s worldwide annual turnover for repeated or serious infringements.

The investigation, opened in December 2023 after X was designated a very large online platform, examined transparency and accountability obligations that apply to systems for content moderation, ad placement and researcher access. Officials said the case did not address all open issues from the broader probe, and that assessments related to illegal‑content policing, election‑related disinformation and the Community Notes program remain under review.

EU digital chief Henna Virkkunen said the ruling establishes a procedural benchmark for future cases and reflects the requirement that very large platforms provide effective researcher access, maintain an accurate ad library and avoid confusing signals in user‑facing labels. X can appeal the decision before the EU courts.

Under the DSA, designated platforms must publish repositories of advertisements with targeting information, provide risk‑assessment reports and independent audits, and give qualified researchers access to data needed to study systemic risks. The law entered into force in 2023 and applies enhanced obligations to very large platforms and search engines that reach at least 45 million monthly users in the EU.

The Commission said it will continue supervisory actions across other providers designated under the DSA and noted that separate proceedings under the Digital Markets Act and EU competition rules are ongoing against several large technology firms. X remains subject to monitoring deadlines set out in the decision and may face additional measures if subsequent checks identify further breaches.

As GNcrypto wrote previously, on December 2, 2025 investor Michael Burry said Tesla shares are overvalued and warned that a potential ten‑year compensation plan for Elon Musk could dilute holders. He cited a forward price‑to‑earnings ratio near 209 versus about 22 for the S&P 500 and estimated annual dilution of roughly 3.6% with no buybacks, placing Tesla within a broader concern about stretched tech and AI valuations.