X Agrees to Overhaul Blue Checkmark System in Europe After Historic EU Fine

X Submits Verification Overhaul to European Commission

Elon Musk's social media platform X has formally submitted proposed changes to its blue checkmark verification system to the European Commission, marking a significant step toward compliance after being hit with a landmark fine late last year.

Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier confirmed that X had delivered its remedies, stating that regulators would now thoroughly evaluate the suggested solutions. Neither the Commission nor X has disclosed the specifics of the proposed changes.

The Historic Fine

The one hundred and twenty million euro penalty, issued on the fifth of December twenty twenty-five, was the first fine ever imposed under the EU's Digital Services Act. The Commission found that X's paid verification system allowed anyone to purchase a blue checkmark without meaningful identity checks, effectively deceiving users into believing accounts had been authenticated when they had not.

Beyond the checkmark issue, regulators also cited failures in X's advertising transparency and restrictions placed on researcher access to public data. X was given sixty working days to address the verification problem and ninety working days to submit an action plan for the remaining violations.

X has pushed back, filing a legal challenge against the fine at the EU's General Court in February, calling the penalty disproportionate.

Mounting Pressure Over Grok AI

The verification dispute is just one front in X's growing regulatory battle in Europe. In late January, the Commission launched a separate investigation into sexualised images generated by X's AI chatbot Grok, including content that may constitute child sexual abuse material. Researchers estimated Grok produced roughly three million sexualised images within two weeks, with approximately twenty-three thousand appearing to depict minors.

Ireland's Data Protection Commission, the UK's Information Commissioner's Office, and French authorities have all opened parallel investigations. X's Paris offices were raided by police in early February as part of a broader probe into the platform.