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The European Commission fined X €120 million on December 5, 2025—about $140 million in contemporaneous news conversions—for three violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The dispute over paid blue checkmarks was one part of the decision, alongside shortcomings in X’s advertising repository and barriers facing eligible researchers seeking public data. X has appealed, and the Commission accepted a corrective action plan for the latter two issues in July 2026.
What the €120 million fine covers
The legally relevant amount is €120 million. “$140 million” is an approximate currency conversion, not a separate penalty. The Commission described this as its first DSA non-compliance decision imposing a fine. Its decision against X’s provider calculated separate penalties for three breaches, which together totaled €120 million.
| DSA finding | Provision | What the Commission said |
|---|---|---|
| Blue-checkmark design | Article 25(1) | The presentation could mislead users about account authenticity. |
| Advertising repository | Article 39 | The public database did not provide sufficient transparency for scrutiny of ads. |
| Researcher access | Article 40(12) | Terms and application procedures created barriers for eligible researchers seeking public data. |
The Commission’s decision announcement explains the findings, deadlines and calculation framework. A European Parliament answer says the Commission considered the nature, gravity, duration and affected EU users; X’s turnover was used to keep the amount within the DSA’s legal ceiling, rather than serving as an automatic 6% revenue calculation.
Why the blue checkmark was called deceptive
From identity and notability to a paid subscription
Under Twitter’s former system, a checkmark generally indicated that an account was notable, authentic and of public interest. X’s current blue badge is primarily tied to an active X Premium subscription and the platform’s eligibility rules. That change matters because the badge’s familiar appearance can still look like an independent trust or identity signal.
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The Commission’s theory was not that charging for a badge is inherently unlawful, nor that every Premium subscriber is fraudulent. It found that retaining the visual and functional association with “verified” while making payment the central route to the badge could mislead users about who is behind an account. That mismatch, the Commission said, can make impersonation scams and manipulation harder to spot.
X says Premium subscribers must satisfy eligibility requirements, including a display name, profile photo and confirmed phone number. X also says ordinary Premium subscribers are not reviewed under the former “active, notable and authentic” standard. Optional government-ID verification is a separate, visibly labeled process.
In other words, the finding concerns the design and meaning of the interface under Article 25(1), not a determination that all blue-badge holders are fake or that X performs no checks.
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The other two violations
Advertising repository
The DSA requires very large online platforms to provide a searchable public repository of advertisements. Such a database lets journalists, researchers, civil-society organizations and the public examine who is paying for campaigns, what messages are running and whom they target. The Commission found X’s repository insufficiently transparent under Article 39.
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Access for independent researchers
Researchers are meant to help investigate systemic risks associated with very large platforms, including manipulation, scams, illegal activity and wider social effects. The Commission said X’s contractual terms and application processes hindered compliant access to public data, contrary to Article 40(12).
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The accepted action plan promises free access for eligible researchers, improved and faster screening, and removal of contractual restrictions that effectively prevented eligible researchers from scraping public data. Those measures address the advertising and researcher-access obligations specifically; they are not a declaration that every issue in the decision has been closed.
What X’s checkmarks mean now
X’s current profile-label guidance distinguishes several signals:
- Blue: generally an active X Premium subscription plus eligibility under X’s rules.
- Gold: an official organization account through Premium Business.
- Gray: a government or multilateral organization account through Premium Organizations.
- ID verification: a separate process; a blue checkmark alone does not establish government-ID verification.
An affiliated account may display a blue, gold or gray badge depending on its relationship with a verified organization. X says profile changes can temporarily remove a badge pending review and that it may remove a checkmark without a refund in some circumstances. These labels are platform signals, not substitutes for independently confirming identity or authority.
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Which law allowed the Commission to act?
The Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) regulates online intermediaries and adds enhanced duties for very large online platforms (VLOPs). X appears on the Commission’s designated VLOP list, so the Commission—not only a national regulator—can enforce those obligations.
The DSA prohibits deceptive design practices and permits corrective measures and substantial fines. For certain violations, the maximum can reach 6% of a platform’s worldwide annual turnover. That is a statutory ceiling, not the formula that automatically produced X’s €120 million fine. The Commission characterized this case as a transparency and design enforcement action, rather than a content-removal penalty.
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X’s court challenge
X and related entities filed an action in February 2026, registered as Case T-114/26 before the EU General Court. The filing contests the blue-checkmark finding under Article 25(1), as well as the advertising and researcher-access conclusions. An appeal does not by itself mean the Commission’s decision has been annulled. The case outcome and timetable remain unresolved.
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Separate compliance deadlines and remedies
The Commission’s December 2025 announcement gave X 60 working days to identify measures addressing the blue-checkmark infringement and 90 working days to submit an action plan for the advertising-repository and researcher-access infringements. The Commission later accepted X’s plan for those latter two areas on July 16, 2026. Legal proceedings and compliance work can proceed at the same time; acceptance of a plan is not a ruling on the appeal.
How users should interpret a badge
- Do not treat a blue checkmark alone as proof of identity, expertise or official status.
- Open the badge and inspect any additional account or organization labels.
- For governments, companies and public figures, confirm the account through an official website and independently verifiable contact details.
- Be wary of urgent payment requests, investment pitches and unexpected direct messages, regardless of badge status.
- Use gold or gray labels as clues about an organization or government affiliation, not as a replacement for checking the claimed affiliation.
The bottom line
The headline shorthand is accurate only with an important qualification: the EU imposed a total €120 million fine, roughly $140 million at the time, for three DSA violations. The blue-checkmark issue is about a potentially misleading trust signal created by the gap between the badge’s appearance and X’s subscription-based meaning. X’s appeal is pending, while the Commission has accepted a plan aimed at improving ad transparency and researcher access.
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