EU charges Elon Musk's X for letting disinfo run wild

The European Union has formally charged Elon Musk's social media platform, referred to as X, for violating EU social media law by allowing disinformation and illegal content to proliferate. This marks the first instance of charges being brought under the new Digital Services Act (DSA), which aims to combat harmful online content and algorithms. The EU Commission's investigation into Musk's platform began in December 2023, following concerns about the spread of disinformation and hate speech. X, previously known as Twitter, is accused of misleading users with its blue checks verification system, which has been exploited by malicious actors. Additionally, the platform allegedly failed to provide a reliable advertisement repository and restricted access to public data for researchers. X now has the opportunity to defend itself against the charges and propose corrective actions. The EU continues to assess whether X violated rules related to illegal content dissemination and disinformation mitigation. If found guilty, X could face fines of up to 6% of its global revenue under the DSA.