Brussels, December 5, 2025 — The European Commission has imposed a €120 million (approximately $139.9 million) fine on X for violating multiple transparency obligations. This marks the EU’s first-ever non-compliance decision under the Digital Services Act regime.
The Commission found that X misled users with its blue-checkmark system. The company also failed to maintain a compliant advertising repository and blocked researchers from accessing public data. All these actions are contrary to requirements for very large online platforms under the DSA.
Deceptive Blue-Checkmark Design
According to the Commission, X’s “verified” badge deceived users. This is because the platform sells the checkmark without verifying the identity behind the accounts. The DSA prohibits online platforms from using deceptive design or falsely suggesting verification. The Commission said the practice exposes users to impersonation scams and manipulation by malicious actors.
Deficient Advertising Repository
The EU executive found that X’s ad transparency tools fall short of legal standards. They cited long processing delays and missing key information like ad content, topics, and identity of paying entities. These gaps impede researchers and civil-society groups from detecting scams, influence operations or hybrid-threat campaigns.
Blocking Researcher Access
The Commission said X breached obligations to provide qualified researchers with access to public data. Its terms ban independent access, including scraping. Additionally, its approval processes impose unnecessary barriers that undermine research into systemic risks within the EU. The fine reflects the nature, gravity, and duration of the infringements across the EU user base.
Next Steps
X has 60 working days to inform the Commission how it will end the deceptive use of blue checkmarks. Furthermore, it has 90 working days to submit an action plan addressing deficiencies in its ad repository and researcher-data access. The Board of Digital Services will issue an opinion within a month of receiving the plan. After that, the Commission will set a timeline for implementation.
Failure to comply may result in periodic penalty payments.
Background
The decision stems from formal proceedings opened in December 2023. These examined X’s handling of illegal content and information-manipulation risks. It also included deceptive design, ad transparency, and data-access issues. Preliminary findings were published in July 2024.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_2934
