Irish Regulator Launches Investigation into Elon Musk’s X Platform

Ireland's media regulator said Wednesday it was investigating Elon Musk's social network X on suspicion of violating EU rules by failing to let users appeal its moderation decisions. "Concerns exist that X is not giving people the opportunity to appeal content moderation decisions and that X's internal complaint-handling systems are not easy to access and user-friendly, as required by law," the Media Commission said in a statement.

The European Digital Services Act (DSA) designates X a "very large online platform" and therefore subject to enhanced controls. Brussels had already opened an investigation into X at the end of 2023, with a particular focus on misinformation. But national regulators in the countries where a company's European headquarters are located oversee compliance with some articles of the DSA.

"This investigation will assess if X has properly informed users of their rights to contest decisions it makes," said the Irish regulator's digital services commissioner, John Evans. "We will not hesitate to intervene and where appropriate take enforcement action to protect the safety of users in Ireland and across the European Union." It is the first investigation opened by the Irish regulator under the DSA and could yield a fine of up to six percent of the company's revenues.