The EU deepens the probe in X after musk outbreaks

Text size

The European Union on Friday demanded X provide more details about its algorithms as part of its wide-ranging investigation into the platform, as Elon Musk’s outbursts on European politics increase pressure for the bloc to act.

Musk, who will be part of Donald Trump’s incoming US administration, has angered Europe with a series of attacks on the continent’s leaders as well as support for Germany’s far-right AfD party ahead of next month’s vote.

The European Commission, which acts as the bloc’s digital watchdog, has come under heavy scrutiny from EU lawmakers seeking tougher measures against X and Musk’s “meddling” in Germany.

Musk’s X is suspected of manipulating the platform’s systems to give far-right posts and politicians greater visibility to other political groups.

X has been under investigation since December 2023 under the EU’s landmark content law – known as the Digital Services Act (DSA) – regarding how it tackles the spread of illegal content and information manipulation.

“Today we are taking further steps to shed light on X’s recommender systems’ compliance with the obligations under the DSA,” said EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen.

Recommender systems are used by platforms to push more personalized content.

EU regulators asked X to provide internal paperwork on its recommendation systems and any recent changes made to it by February 15.

The commission has also ordered X “to preserve internal documents and information regarding future changes to the design and operation of its recommendation algorithms” between January 17 and December 31 of this year, unless the probe is concluded earlier.

It also asked for access to some of X’s commercial APIs — technical interfaces to its content that allow direct fact-finding about content moderation and accounts’ virality.

“These steps will enable the commission’s services to take into account all relevant facts in the complex assessment under the DSA of systemic risks and their mitigation,” the commission said.

Musk has criticized the EU’s DSA as a tool for censorship. The law came into full effect last February and is part of the bloc’s strengthened legal weaponry aimed at what Brussels views as major technological excesses.

Virkkunen promised that the EU would fully enforce its rules.

“We are committed to ensuring that any platform operating in the EU respects our legislation, which aims to make the online environment fair, safe and democratic for all European citizens,” she said.

Faced with accusations of slowing its investigation into X due to pressure from Trump, the EU has insisted it has not wavered in its enforcement of its rules.

In July 2024, the EU formally accused the platform, as part of the same 2023 investigation, of misleading users with its blue ticks for certified accounts, of insufficient advertising transparency and of not giving researchers access to X’s data.

EU digital spokesman Thomas Regnier insisted that Friday’s demands were “completely independent of political considerations or indeed of any specific events that have recently taken place”.