EU Accuses Elon Musk’s X of Using Deceptive ‘Dark Patterns’ With Blue Checks

European Union (EU) officials have issued preliminary findings of an investigation into Elon Musk’s X Corp., accusing the social media giant of restricting data access for researchers, lack of advertising transparency, and the design of its “blue check” verified account system leaving users open to deception.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, announced on July 12 that it believes X has violated the Digital Services Act (DSA), a sweeping law whose stated aims include reining in illegal content on social media platforms and forcing tech companies to be more responsible and transparent in their content moderation and advertising practices.