Social media X no longer allows EU Commission to place ads
Following the heavy fine imposed on X by the EU Commission, the Brussels-based authority is no longer allowed to place ads on tech billionaire Elon Musk's online platform. This means it is losing reach.
08.12.2025, 06:50
SDA
Head of Product Nikita Bier justified the ban by stating that the Commission's account had violated rules in order to attract more attention to an X contribution to the fine of 120 million euros. Musk had previously also called for the European Union to be abolished via X.
With the termination of its advertising account, the Commission loses the opportunity to increase the distribution of its contributions by displaying them to more users in return for payment.
One of the reasons given by the EU Commission for its punishment was that under Musk's aegis, the verification checkmarks behind X accounts had been assigned in a misleading manner. Before the wealthy entrepreneur took over the platform, then still known as Twitter, in October 2022, the verification symbols were only awarded to prominent users and companies after a successful identity check.
However, Musk decided that all paying subscription customers should receive the identical-looking symbol - without clear proof of identity. There are now also gold symbols for companies and silver symbols for government agencies.
X boss sees rules violated
X product boss Bier claimed that the Commission had published a link in the post in question that "made users believe it was a video". An attempt had been made to "artificially increase the reach". The post shows a 40-second video of the Commission's decision, which can also be played.
Bier did not respond to questions from users as to what exactly the infringement was. He claimed that the Commission had exploited a vulnerability in the platform, which has since been closed.
