The European Union has officially declared suspicions that X, formerly known as Twitter and now owned by Elon Musk, may be violating its regulations, particularly in areas such as combating illegal content and disinformation.

Digital Commissioner Thierry Breton outlined the alleged breaches in a post on the social media platform.

Additionally, X is suspected of failing to meet transparency obligations. In response, X stated that it is cooperating with the regulatory process and emphasized the importance of keeping the process free from political influence and by the law.

These formal proceedings mark the first actions taken under the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU's stringent new regulations for major tech companies.

The DSA imposes additional responsibilities on large firms to safeguard users against extreme content, with potential consequences including significant fines or suspension for non-compliance.

The EU Commission has initiated the proceedings, stating that it will investigate X's systems and policies related to the suspected infringements without prejudging the investigation's outcome.

In October, the EU had already launched an investigation into X concerning the potential spread of terrorist and violent content, as well as hate speech, following an attack by Hamas on Israel.

X had previously removed numerous Hamas-affiliated accounts from its platform. The ongoing EU investigation into X will also assess the effectiveness of X's Community Notes system.

It allows contributors to comment on the accuracy of posts, with the company considering it a bulwark against disinformation.

However, concerns about the nature of the content appearing on X have intensified since it was bought by Elon Musk - in part because he laid off many of its moderators - with the European Commission previously warning it had the biggest disinformation problem of any major platform.

In the US, controversy over extremist material appearing on the site has led to an advertising boycott, a bitter row between Mr Musk and a campaign group, and even questions about whether X could end up going bankrupt.

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