X Deactivates EU Commission Ad Account After €120M Fine

Social media platform X has deactivated the European Commission's advertising account, a move that closely follows the EC's imposition of a €120 million fine on the company. While X denies the deactivation is retaliatory, attributing it instead to an alleged exploit of its ad system by the Commission, the timing underscores growing tensions between the tech giant and European regulators.

The substantial €120 million (approximately $140 million) penalty, the first under the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA), was announced by the European Commission this weekend. The EC cited X's blue checkmark system as "deceptive," arguing that the paid verification process makes users vulnerable to impersonation and scams. Additionally, the Commission found X's advertising repository fell short of the DSA's transparency and accessibility requirements.

The Commission has given X 60 days to address concerns regarding its blue checkmarks and 90 days to rectify the ad transparency violations, warning of potential further penalties if these deadlines are not met.

Following the announcement of the fine, X owner Elon Musk publicly dismissed it as "bullshit" and provocatively questioned the future of the EU, posting "How long before the EU is gone? AbolishTheEU" on his platform.

Despite Musk's strong reaction, X claims the deactivation of the European Commission's ad account is unrelated to the fine. Instead, Nikita Bier, X's Head of Product, accused the EC of misusing a "dormant ad account" to exploit an "Ad Composer" bug. Bier alleged the Commission used this exploit "to post a link that deceives users into thinking it’s a video and to artificially increase its reach."

In a post, Bier stated:

As you may be aware, X believes everyone should have an equal voice on our platform. However, it seems you believe that the rules should not apply to your account.

He confirmed the Commission's ad account had been "terminated" as a result. Bier later added that the exploit "has never been abused like this" and has since been patched.

While the European Commission can no longer purchase ads on X, its original post announcing the fine remains visible on the platform. The EC's account also retains its grey checkmark, signifying its status as a government organization.