The European Commission has issued a €120 million fine against X for violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA). What does this mean for the entire creator economy?
The decision signals that platforms, advertisers, and creators will face greater scrutiny over transparency, authentication, and data access going forward.
How did X violate the DSA?
The ruling centres on three major failures by X: deceptive use of the blue checkmark, insufficient advertising transparency, and blocking researcher access to public data.
Each of these has direct implications for influencers, agencies, and brands that rely on the platform for campaigns and audience engagement.
The blue checkmark
The European Commission found that X’s paid “verified” checkmark, which is available without real identity verification, misled users and increased the risk of impersonation and scams.
For influencer marketers, it means a higher impersonation risk - fake accounts impersonating creators or brands can run ads, solicit money, or scam followers, which directly harms creator reputations and falsifies data.
If X is forced to redesign or differentiate paid vs. verified identities, marketers may need to re-evaluate how they vet creators. Also, stricter rules may push platforms to offer more reliable verification tools.
Advertising transparency failures
The Commission’s findings highlight that X’s ad repository lacked basic transparency data, such as the content and topic of ads or the entity paying for them.
Because of this, Influencer ads on X may need to meet stricter transparency rules regarding who paid for an ad, what audience it targeted, and how it was labelled.
Possible changes to campaign reporting could soon require clearer information on ad buyers, sponsorships, and targeting criteria from brands.
Also, creators who are involved in political commentary or advocacy on X may have new restrictions or disclosure requirements. Transparency obligations under the DSA essentially force X to provide a clearer record of paid content, similar to Meta’s Ad Library, which could streamline compliance for brand partnerships.
Data access restrictions
The Commission also ruled that X unlawfully restricted researchers’ access to public-facing data, including via scraping.
Independent tools that track virality, reach, brand mentions, and misinformation trends have struggled on X due to data lockdowns. If researchers regain structured access to public data, we could see better measurement standards and more accurate industry benchmarks.
More transparent data ultimately benefits marketers who need to justify spend, avoid fraudulent engagement, and identify genuine creator impact.
What influencer marketers should prepare for?
X may roll out:
- redesigned verification badges
- new ad transparency tools
- more structured data-access programs
These changes could affect planning, campaign execution, and creator onboarding.
Platform accountability
Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, framed the ruling as a major step toward restoring trust online, stating that deceptive design practices and opacity “have no place online in the EU.”
“The DSA protects users. The DSA gives researchers the way to uncover potential threats. The DSA restores trust in the online environment. With the DSA’s first non-compliance decision, we are holding X responsible for undermining users’ rights and evading accountability."
Influencer marketers who adapt early by tightening verification processes, improving disclosure practices, and demanding transparent data from platforms will be best positioned in this new era of accountability.
