The European Commission has informed X (formerly Twitter) of its preliminary view that the platform is in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA) in three key areas:

1. Dark Patterns: The Commission believes that X's interface design for "verified accounts" with the blue checkmark is deceptive and does not align with industry best practices. The current design allows anyone to purchase a verification status, potentially misleading users about the authenticity of accounts and content.
2. Advertising Transparency: X's advertisement repository is deemed non-compliant due to design features and access barriers that hinder its transparency purpose. This lack of transparency affects users' ability to understand how ads are distributed and limits research into online advertising risks.
3. Data Access for Researchers: X is accused of failing to provide eligible researchers with the required access to public data. The platform's terms of service prohibit independent data access through methods like scraping, and its application programming interface (API) access process seems to discourage or financially burden researchers.

These preliminary findings are the result of an extensive investigation involving the analysis of internal documents, expert interviews, and collaboration with national Digital Services Coordinators. While X has the opportunity to defend itself against these findings, if they are confirmed, the Commission could impose significant fines and order X to take corrective measures. The case highlights the EU's commitment to ensuring transparency, accountability, and fair practices in the digital realm through the DSA.