Elon Musk, CTO and chairman of X, took to social media to claim that the European Commission (EC) offered the platform an “illegal secret deal” to censor speech in order to avoid being fined in the EU. Musk made these accusations in response to the EC publishing their preliminary findings of an investigation under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which highlighted X’s lack of compliance in key transparency areas.
In his social media posts, Musk revealed that the EC proposed refraining from imposing a fine on X if they agreed to “quietly censor speech without telling anyone.” Musk went on to state that while other platforms accepted this deal, X chose not to. Furthermore, Musk expressed X’s readiness to engage in a very public battle in court regarding the matter.
The European Commission’s investigation findings pointed out that X breached the DSA in various areas, including dark patterns, advertising transparency, and data access for researchers. The report highlighted issues with the platform’s “Blue checkmarks” and verified accounts, stating that anyone can obtain them, leading to potential abuse by malicious actors. Additionally, X was criticized for not providing a searchable and reliable advertising repository, as well as imposing barriers that hinder research and supervision.
As a response to the preliminary findings, X can now exercise its rights of defense by submitting a written response. The EC will further consult on the matter with the European Board for Digital Services. The final decision regarding X’s compliance failures could result in hefty fines of up to 6% of the platform’s worldwide annual turnover. Moreover, X may need to address the issues raised to continue operating in the EU, and the decision could involve enhanced supervision and penalty payments.
Overall, the allegations made by Elon Musk and the subsequent investigation findings shed light on the challenges faced by X in complying with the Digital Services Act. The platform’s stance on censorship and transparency will likely be closely scrutinized as the legal battle unfolds in the public eye.
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