EU Fines X €120 Million for DSA Violation Over ‘Deceptive’ Blue Check Verification

According to the European Commission, the EU has fined X €120 million for breaches of the Digital Services Act related to its Blue Check verification system, advertising-transparency rules and researchers’ data access. The ruling finds that X’s Blue Check design is deceptive because the badge could mislead users about verification status, while three transparency failures were also identified.

The EU notes that the ad library lacks sufficient information about who pays for ads and that design features hinder public scrutiny of advertising content. In addition, the Commission says X imposed restrictions on access to public data for researchers, hindering scrutiny of systemic risks within the bloc. X now has 60 working days to respond to the findings and 90 days to submit a meaningful action plan to remedy the shortcomings; failure to comply could lead to further penalties. 8 December 2025.