European Union accuses X's 'blue tick' service of fraud

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said on Friday that X was "in breach" of the bloc's Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into force this year and is designed to better control online content.

In initial findings from an investigation that began last year, the EU said the decision, after Musk took over the company for $44 billion two years ago, to allow anyone to pay to get the blue checkmark was a form of deception for millions of users.

Billionaire Elon Musk. Photo: AP

“Since anyone can apply for such a ‘verified’ status, this negatively impacts users’ ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of accounts and the content they interact with,” the Brussels regulators said.

Musk's social media company could face a fine of up to 6% of its global revenue. In 2021, the last year the social network, formerly known as Twitter, reported revenue, it earned $5.1 billion.

The DSA imposes a range of new responsibilities on major online platforms, such as forcing them to regularly report the removal of illegal and harmful posts and providing the option to opt out of targeted advertising.

The EU added that X's activities failed to comply with the DSA in a number of areas, such as techniques used to manipulate user behavior or advertising transparency.

“Previously, the blue tick used to mean a trustworthy source of information,” said Thierry Breton, the European Commission’s internal market commissioner. “Now with X, our preliminary view is that they misled users and breached the DSA… X now has the right to defend itself – but if our view is confirmed, we will impose fines and demand substantial changes.”

Hoang Hai (according to FT, AP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/lien-minh-chau-au-cao-buoc-dich-vu-tich-xanh-cua-x-co-hanh-vi-lua-dao-post303362.html