X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has deactivated the European Commission’s (EC) advertising account following the EU regulator’s €120 million (approximately $140 million) fine.

The fine marks the European Commission’s first enforcement action under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA).

The commission criticized X’s blue checkmark verification system as “deceptive,” warning that the paid verification model exposes users to impersonation and potential scams.

In addition, the EC highlighted deficiencies in X’s advertising transparency, stating that its ad repository did not meet the DSA’s requirements for accessibility and transparency.

Under the DSA, X is required to respond to concerns about its blue checkmarks within 60 days, and address advertising transparency violations within 90 days, or risk further penalties.

Following the announcement of the fine, X owner Elon Musk described the ruling as “bullshit,” adding a social media post questioning the European Union’s future: “How long before the EU is gone? AbolishTheEU.”

X’s Head of Product, Nikita Bier, explained that the deactivation of the EC’s account was not directly linked to the fine, but to the commission’s activity on the platform’s advertising system.

Bier accused the EC of exploiting a dormant ad account to post a link that misled users into thinking it was a video, artificially boosting its reach.

“As you may be aware, X believes everyone should have an equal voice on our platform,” Bier wrote.

“However, it seems you believe that the rules should not apply to your account.” He added that the commission’s ad account had been terminated and noted that the exploited feature has since been patched.

A European Commission spokesperson told TechCrunch that the commission “always uses all social media platforms in good faith.”

The spokesperson emphasized that the commission was merely utilizing tools made available by the platform itself through X’s Post Composer feature and expects these tools to comply with both the platform’s terms and the legislative framework.

The spokesperson also confirmed that the commission suspended paid advertising on X in October 2023, and that suspension remains in effect.

Source: Techcrunch