ET Explainer: Behind EU vs Elon Musk fight over blue tick
Elon Musk and the European Union after the latter accused Musk-owned social media platform X (formerly Twitter) of violating its online content regulations around transparency and accountability. A back and forth between Musk and the European Commissioner ensued. Here’s an explainer on the accusations against X and what the two sides have been saying.
Why is X’s blue check on the dock?
The European Commission on Friday issued its preliminary findings based on an investigation initiated last year. It found X to be in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA).
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Offering CollegeCourseWebsiteIndian School of BusinessISB Product ManagementVisitMIT xPROMIT Technology Leadership and InnovationVisitIndian School of BusinessProfessional Certificate in Product ManagementVisit <div data-placement=«Mid Article Thumbnails» data-target_type=«mix» data-mode=«thumbnails-mid» style=«min-height:400px; margin-bottom:12px;» class=«wdt-taboola» id=«taboola-mid-article-thumbnails-111759486»>The commission said the blue checkmark given to ‘verified’ users constitutes “dark patterns” and that there was evidence of motivated malicious actors abusing the ‘verified account’ feature to deceive users.
Twitter’s blue checks were earlier reserved for accounts of influential persons including politicians and celebrities. Since Musk’s takeover of the platform in 2022, anyone can get one by paying $8 a month.
“Since anyone can subscribe to obtain such a ‘verified status’ it negatively affects users’ ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of the accounts and the content they interact with,” the European Commission said in a statement.
What are the transparency concerns?
