EU fines X €120m for paid blue ticks under DSA
You’ll see a lot of posts about the EU and Elon Musk’s X today. Here’s what actually happened. On 5 December 2025 the European Commission fined X €120m for breaking the Digital Services Act. Regulators said three things went wrong: the paid blue tick misleads people about who is behind an account; the advertising library lacks key information; and researchers are being blocked from access to public data needed to study online risks. It’s the Commission’s first decision finding a platform non‑compliant under the DSA.
What the EU says this means for you is simple: on X, anyone can buy a ‘verified’ label without proving their identity. The Commission argues that calling that “verified” deceives users and can expose you to impersonation and scams. The DSA doesn’t force platforms to ID‑check everyone; it bans designs that mislead people.
How we got here matters. Before 2023, Twitter awarded blue ticks after checking an account’s identity. After Elon Musk bought the company, X moved the badge into its paid Premium tier. Today a blue tick signals that you pay for features and meet basic account criteria, not that X has confirmed who you are.
Expect strong opinions from the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the fine an attack on American tech companies and on Americans; Vice‑President JD Vance said Brussels was punishing X for “not engaging in censorship”; and FCC chair Brendan Carr argued Europe was “taxing Americans”. These critiques arrived within hours of the announcement and underline a wider political row over online rules.
Let’s clear up a common confusion. The DSA and the DMA are two different EU rulebooks. The DSA is about how platforms handle content, advertising and systemic risks; it also outlaws deceptive design and requires a public ad database that people can search. The DMA deals with market power and the special duties of the biggest “gatekeeper” firms. This X case sits under the DSA, not the DMA.
What this means when you’re on X: a blue tick in the EU is a paid perk, not proof of identity. If someone claims to be a council, charity or journalist, read the handle carefully, cross‑check with an official website, and be wary of posts asking for money, downloads or urgent action.
What happens next. The Commission has issued a non‑compliance decision; X now needs to set out how it will fix the problems or risk further penalties. Under the DSA, fines can reach up to 6% of a company’s global revenue, and periodic penalty payments are possible if issues persist. X can challenge the decision in EU courts.
Why the ad library matters to you. A searchable register of adverts lets people and researchers see who paid, why audiences were targeted and what message ran. The Commission says X’s repository omits basics like the content or topic of an advert and the legal entity paying for it, and that access can be slowed by design choices-making it harder to spot scams or political manipulation.
Why researcher access matters in civic life. The DSA expects very large platforms to grant vetted researchers access to public data so they can study misinformation, election interference and other systemic risks. According to the Commission, X’s terms block independent access-such as scraping-and its processes add unnecessary barriers that undercut that duty.
Media literacy moment. This case isn’t about ordering posts to be taken down. It’s about labelling and transparency: don’t call something “verified” if you haven’t verified it; don’t hide how adverts work; don’t shut the door on public‑interest research. EU officials, including Executive Vice‑President Henna Virkkunen, frame these rules as protecting users’ rights rather than policing opinions.
If you teach computing, politics or media, try a short activity with your class. Open an X post, an Instagram advert and a YouTube video. For each, write what the platform tells you about who is speaking, whether the account’s identity is confirmed, and who paid for any promotion. Then ask: could a first‑time user work that out at a glance? That design test sits at the centre of the DSA.
Big picture for everyday users: Europe’s approach says free expression sits alongside rules against deception and for transparency. You don’t have to agree with the EU to see the practical takeaway-treat a blue tick as a subscription badge, look for clear labels on adverts, and remember that credible research needs access to public data to keep us all informed.