> The violations include the misleading design of the blue tick
In what way is it misleading?
amarcheschi•2mo ago
The European Commission said by allowing people to pay for a blue verified check mark on their profile, the platform "deceives users" because the firm is not "meaningfully verifying" who is behind the account.
> the platform "deceives users" because the firm is not "meaningfully verifying" who is behind the account.
Are users confused? The checkmark clearly means “paid subscriber” rather than “verified identity,” and this is publicly disclosed.
Would the commission prefer that X does away with the mechanism altogether OR is their real goal to force the collection of users’ identity?
amarcheschi•2mo ago
The checkmark clearly means “paid subscriber” to you maybe. I don't know what the commission would prefer to do, and I don't know how allowing only verified users to have a tick would enforce identity collection
I would expect everybody on hn to know the shift from verified to paid users, I wouldn't expect a regular Joe to know about it
Your account must meet the following criteria to receive or retain the blue checkmark:
- Complete: Your account must have a display name and profile photo
- Active use: Your account must be active in the past 30 days to subscribe to X Premium
- Security: Your account must have a confirmed phone number
Non-Deceptive:
- Your account must have no recent changes to your profile photo, display name, or username (@handle)
- Your account must have no signs of being misleading or deceptive
- Your account must have no signs of engaging in platform manipulation and spam
amarcheschi•2mo ago
I honestly find it deceptive at first, given that it is not what is expected by the regular person
Looking at the official EU commission statement, this is it and I agree with it:
X's use of the ‘blue checkmark' for ‘verified accounts' deceives users. This violates the DSA obligation for online platforms to prohibit deceptive design practices on their services. On X, anyone can pay to obtain the ‘verified' status without the company meaningfully verifying who is behind the account, making it difficult for users to judge the authenticity of accounts and content they engage with. This deception exposes users to scams, including impersonation frauds, as well as other forms of manipulation by malicious actors. While the DSA does not mandate user verification, it clearly prohibits online platforms from falsely claiming that users have been verified, when no such verification took place.
andsoitis•2mo ago
So if "verified" nomenclature and badging changed to "paid", that would resolve this problem in your mind?
amarcheschi•2mo ago
Heh, partially. While it would be better, a tick has imprinted the notion of something "official" that can't be bought regardless of the price. Maybe that would be enough for me but not for the EC
rasz•2mo ago
And Autopilot clearly means Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, only idiot would think otherwise, right?
viraptor•2mo ago
> to post a link that deceives users into thinking it is a video and to artificially increase its reach (...) As you may know, X believes that everyone should have an equal voice on our platform
So... not equal voice? Those who pay get better voice and those who post videos get even better one?
andsoitis•2mo ago
In what way is it misleading?
amarcheschi•2mo ago
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g9kejzvw0o
andsoitis•2mo ago
Are users confused? The checkmark clearly means “paid subscriber” rather than “verified identity,” and this is publicly disclosed.
Would the commission prefer that X does away with the mechanism altogether OR is their real goal to force the collection of users’ identity?
amarcheschi•2mo ago
I would expect everybody on hn to know the shift from verified to paid users, I wouldn't expect a regular Joe to know about it
andsoitis•2mo ago
Your account must meet the following criteria to receive or retain the blue checkmark:
- Complete: Your account must have a display name and profile photo
- Active use: Your account must be active in the past 30 days to subscribe to X Premium
- Security: Your account must have a confirmed phone number
Non-Deceptive:
- Your account must have no recent changes to your profile photo, display name, or username (@handle)
- Your account must have no signs of being misleading or deceptive
- Your account must have no signs of engaging in platform manipulation and spam
amarcheschi•2mo ago
Looking at the official EU commission statement, this is it and I agree with it:
X's use of the ‘blue checkmark' for ‘verified accounts' deceives users. This violates the DSA obligation for online platforms to prohibit deceptive design practices on their services. On X, anyone can pay to obtain the ‘verified' status without the company meaningfully verifying who is behind the account, making it difficult for users to judge the authenticity of accounts and content they engage with. This deception exposes users to scams, including impersonation frauds, as well as other forms of manipulation by malicious actors. While the DSA does not mandate user verification, it clearly prohibits online platforms from falsely claiming that users have been verified, when no such verification took place.
andsoitis•2mo ago
amarcheschi•2mo ago
rasz•2mo ago