Sucks to EUFeb 25
pirate wires #134 // europe shocked as america “transforms” into a… liberal country? a few thoughts on the EU’s unprovoked trade war, and the future of the western lib alliance
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EU Slams X With $140m Fine for 'Deceptive' Blue Checks
after threatening american tech companies for years, the eu finally hits x with its first major penalty under the digital services act
Harris Sockel
Dec 5, 2025
Today, the EU fined X €120m (roughly equivalent to $140m), the first-ever penalty under Europe’s Digital Services Act, for “the deceptive design of its ‘blue checkmark,’” incomplete information in its ad database, and prohibiting researchers from accessing some of its data.
The European Commission’s tech policy lead, Henna Virkkunen (a Finnish politician who studied philosophy and began her career as a horse caretaker), alleges that blue checks are deceptive because they imply identity verification, though X doesn’t actually verify users’ identities. X has 60 business days to explain how it will fix its checkmark system, and 90 business days to give the EU access to its data.
Europe has been warning America about these fines for years. Thierry Breton, the previous Commissioner, opened an investigation into X on December 18, 2023, initially focusing on whether the platform is “disseminating illegal content” and spreading “misinformation” (in addition to deceptive blue-check design). Last summer, Elon Musk said Breton offered X a “secret deal”: if X quietly censored speech without telling users, Breton would refrain from fining them for the “deceptive” blue-check design. Musk refused. Breton resigned late last year.
More fines will probably follow: the New York Times reports EU’s penalties on X “could ultimately surpass $1 billion,” as European regulators try to “make an example of X” so they can stop other American tech companies from violating the Digital Services Act.
Sucks to EU
How the EU Weaponizes Regulation to Extract Billions from American TechJul 26
for years, the eu has weaponized regulations to extract billions from u.s. tech companies. with their most recent batch of laws, they’ve positioned themselves to destroy tech’s profit margins
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AI: Queer Lives Matter, Straight Lives Don'tDec 3
when prompted with thousands of moral dilemmas, most large language models consistently save queer and trans people from terminal illness before straight and cisgender people
5 Likes
0 Comments
Shock UK Regulatory Coup Gives Government Sweeping Control Over US TechNov 26
london’s digital markets, competition and consumers act gives regulators the power to stop any acquisition, anywhere, for basically any reason they want
8 Likes
4 Comments
Pavel Durov’s Arrest Leaves More Questions Than AnswersSep 9
the telegram ceo’s arrest embodies the white-hot issues of security, censorship, government interference, geopolitics and the manic competition for all-important eyeballs that is the internet today
6 Likes
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Radio Free Britain: a Primer on Free Speech and Social Media in the UKAug 16
a new labour government is flexing its muscles after a decade and a half out of power, during which time the internet grew exponentially, but british control over the internet didn’t
7 Likes
10 Comments