Musk's X misleads users with blue checks, EU charges

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Tech billionaire Elon Musk's X platform is deceiving users with its blue checkmarks for certified accounts, and is also violating EU content rules, Brussels said Friday, in a finding that could lead to hefty fines.

EU regulators are unhappy with changes Musk made to the blue badge system since anyone can now obtain it via a premium subscription, whereas previously it was reserved for verified accounts including leaders, companies and journalists, and subject to approval.

Musk overhauled the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, including changing its name, after purchasing it in October 2022.

But his plans for X have put him at odds with Brussels since the EU wants big tech to do more to protect users online and increase competition in the digital sphere.

Now, the European Commission has informed X of its preliminary view that it is "in breach" of the bloc's Digital Services Act (DSA), arguing that the social network "deceives" users with its new blue badge rules.

"Since anyone can subscribe to obtain such a 'verified' status, it negatively affects users' ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of the accounts and the content they interact with," the commission said in a statement.

"There is evidence of motivated malicious actors abusing the 'verified account' to deceive users," it added.

X's chief executive Linda Yaccarino pushed back at the charge in a post on the platform, arguing that "a democratized system, allowing everyone across Europe to access verification, is better than just the privileged few being verified".

EU regulators' wide-ranging probe into X also continues to look into the spread of illegal content and the effectiveness of the platform's efforts to combat disinformation, the commission said.

Musk lashed out at Brussels in posts on X, accusing Brussels of offering it a deal to censor speech and vowing to go court over the matter.

"The DSA IS misinformation!" Musk wrote in reply to a senior EU official.

"The European