The European Commission on Monday opened a new formal investigation into social media platform X under the Digital Services Act (DSA), and broadened an ongoing probe to scrutinize the platform's compliance with EU rules governing recommender-system risk management, reported Xinhua.
In a press release, the commission said the new case will examine whether X properly assessed and mitigated risks associated with the deployment of Grok's functionalities in the EU, including risks linked to the spread of illegal content such as manipulated sexually explicit images, including content that may amount to child sexual abuse material.
X's Grok AI tool has come under mounting criticism following reports that it was used to generate allegedly illegal sexual content.
At the same time, the commission broadened a separate case it opened in December 2023 to examine whether X has met its obligations to manage risks tied to its recommender systems, including the impact of X's recently announced switch to a Grok-based recommender system.
The Commission said it will continue to gather evidence, including by sending additional requests for information and conducting interviews or inspections, and "may impose interim measures" if there are no "meaningful adjustments" to the X service. Under the DSA, companies can be fined up to 6 percent of their global annual turnover for breaches.
In December 2025, the European Commission issued its first non-compliance decision under the DSA, fining X 120 million euros (about 142.35 million U.S. dollars) for breaches, including the deceptive design of its blue checkmark.
Meanwhile, Meta has been given four months to ensure its messaging service WhatsApp complies with additional obligations under the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) following its designation as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP), the European Commission said on Monday.
The Commission formally designated WhatsApp as a VLOP after the platform's "Channels" feature reached the threshold of at least 45 million users in the European Union (EU).
Under the DSA, Meta now has until mid-May 2026 to bring WhatsApp into compliance with more stringent requirements, including the assessment and mitigation of systemic risks. These risks include the dissemination of illegal content, electoral manipulation, and violations of fundamental human rights and freedom of expression.
The Commission noted that WhatsApp is a "hybrid service" comprising features of both private messaging and an online platform. The "Channels" feature, which allows users to disseminate updates to a broad audience, falls under the definition of an online platform service and is therefore subject to general DSA obligations.
However, WhatsApp's private messaging service, which enables users to send text messages and make calls, remains explicitly excluded from the application of the DSA, according to the Commission.
- EU
- Grok
- X
- Meta
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
