Elon Musk's X was charged by the European Commission on Friday of misleading consumers and breaking laws pertaining to digital material, which may result in a sizable punishment for the social media behemoth. The EU's executive body, the commission, launched an inquiry last year to see if X violates the Digital Services Act (DSA), a piece of legislation that mandates Big Tech companies to more closely monitor the material on their platforms.
According to the body's preliminary assessment, which was released on Friday, X has violated regulations pertaining to dark patterns, advertising transparency, and researcher access to data. The term "dark patterns" refers to deceitful strategies used to steer consumers towards certain goods and services.
According to the commission, X's usage of the blue checkmark for verified accounts deviates from industry standards because anybody may subscribe and receive a verified status. Furthermore, it stated that there was proof of "motivated malicious actors" misleading consumers by misusing the verified status.
In addition, the commission charged that X had included design elements and obstacles that impede advertising transparency and that it does not grant academics access to its public data, as mandated by the DSA.
“In our view, X does not comply with the DSA in key transparency areas, by using dark patterns and thus misleading users, by failing to provide an adequate ad repository, and by blocking access to data for researchers,” the European Union’s antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager, said in Friday’s statement.
“The DSA has transparency at its very core, and we are determined to ensure that all platforms, including X, comply with EU legislation.”
There were no comments available on the issue form X.
Should the commission's opinions be validated, X may be subject to a punishment equivalent to 6% of its yearly global revenue.
"We will impose fines and require significant changes if our view is confirmed," EU industry head Thierry Breton stated in a post on X. AliExpress and Meta regarding similar issues. "X has now the right of defence," Breton wrote.
This is happenning when the EU imposes strict regulations on internet behemoths like Google and Meta. A significant portion of the commission's 2022 introduction of the Digital Services Act was centred on how digital businesses target customers with advertisements.
(Source:www.moneycontrol.com)
According to the body's preliminary assessment, which was released on Friday, X has violated regulations pertaining to dark patterns, advertising transparency, and researcher access to data. The term "dark patterns" refers to deceitful strategies used to steer consumers towards certain goods and services.
According to the commission, X's usage of the blue checkmark for verified accounts deviates from industry standards because anybody may subscribe and receive a verified status. Furthermore, it stated that there was proof of "motivated malicious actors" misleading consumers by misusing the verified status.
In addition, the commission charged that X had included design elements and obstacles that impede advertising transparency and that it does not grant academics access to its public data, as mandated by the DSA.
“In our view, X does not comply with the DSA in key transparency areas, by using dark patterns and thus misleading users, by failing to provide an adequate ad repository, and by blocking access to data for researchers,” the European Union’s antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager, said in Friday’s statement.
“The DSA has transparency at its very core, and we are determined to ensure that all platforms, including X, comply with EU legislation.”
There were no comments available on the issue form X.
Should the commission's opinions be validated, X may be subject to a punishment equivalent to 6% of its yearly global revenue.
"We will impose fines and require significant changes if our view is confirmed," EU industry head Thierry Breton stated in a post on X. AliExpress and Meta regarding similar issues. "X has now the right of defence," Breton wrote.
This is happenning when the EU imposes strict regulations on internet behemoths like Google and Meta. A significant portion of the commission's 2022 introduction of the Digital Services Act was centred on how digital businesses target customers with advertisements.
(Source:www.moneycontrol.com)