Teenagers pose for a photo while holding smartphones in front of a X logo in this illustration taken September 11, 2025. REUTERS
(Reuters) – Elon Musk’s social media company X has agreed to change its verification mechanism in the European Union following a fine of 120 million euros, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing a European Commission spokesperson.
X was fined in December by EU tech regulators for breaching online content rules, the first sanction under a landmark legislation that drew criticism from the U.S. government.
Here are the details:
- The Bloomberg report quoted European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier saying that X submitted remedies in relation to its blue check mark verification feature.
- The European Commission and X did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
- Regnier said the commission will assess the proposed remedies, according to the report.
- The EU sanction against X had followed a two-year-long investigation under the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires online platforms to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content.
- The European Commission in July 2024 had charged X with deceiving users, saying that the blue checkmark does not correspond to industry practices and that anyone can pay to get a “verified” status.
- The blue checkmark had previously indicated that an account belonged to a public figure whose identity was verified, but Musk changed it to indicate it belonged to a paid subscriber after acquiring X in 2022.
- Musk acquired X, formerly known as Twitter, for $44 billion.
Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed
