X Among the EU’s Most Heavily Regulated Platforms
X is one of 17 designated “very large online platforms”, a category for services with massive reach and heightened systemic risk. Reports indicate X had 112 million monthly active European users in 2023, placing it firmly within the DSA’s strictest tier.
Under the act, these platforms must:
-
Provide simple tools for users to report illegal content
-
Implement risk-mitigation systems tailored to misinformation
-
Offer researchers reliable, timely access to data
-
Maintain fully transparent, searchable ad repositories
The Commission’s first DSA designations, adopted in April, named platforms including Amazon, Apple’s App Store, LinkedIn, Google Search, Bing and numerous Meta-owned services such as Facebook and Instagram.
The ruling against X signals that Brussels intends to enforce its new digital rulebook aggressively—and that the age of light-touch governance for tech giants in Europe is officially over.
