Elon Musk's X looks to allay EU regulator with blue checkmark disclaimer
Elon Musk's social network X is showing users a prominent disclaimer about the platform's blue checkmark programme in a bid to appease concerns from the EU's content regulators that it is deceptive and should be overhauled.
X started showing users a message explaining the meaning of the blue check that appears on some user profiles last week. The notice was intended to demonstrate that the allegedly infringing behaviour had been brought to an end, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Before Mr Musk's takeover of the platform in 2022, the blue checkmark was assigned to accounts verified as belonging to journalists, politicians and other public figures. From April 2023, the badge was assigned to 'active, secure, and non-deceptive' users who subscribed to X's premium features, 'regardless of perceived notability', according to the disclosure.
X is seeking to mitigate a potential fine related to an investigation under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA). The European Commission has been examining how the platform handles illegal content and disinformation as well as deceptive design. EU regulators earlier warned X that it could slap the company with heavy penalties for the alleged infringements.
In July 2024, the commission argued that the revamped checkmark was in breach of the DSA in that it did 'not correspond to industry practice and deceives users'. The regulator also said that X had infringed the DSA's rules on advertising transparency and access to data for researchers.
Fines under the DSA can reach as much as 6% of a company's annual global sales. The EU may calculate the fines by including revenue from Mr Musk's other businesses, including SpaceX and Neuralink, Bloomberg reported last year.
A spokesperson for the commission said the institution took note of X's announcement, and that its investigation into the blue checkmark is ongoing. X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bloomberg
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
How to make the most of your financial power at every life and career stage
Women are financially disadvantaged throughout their lives. From paying the 'pink tax' – more for similar clothing and toiletries compared to men – to the gender pay gap , pensions and inheritance gaps, it's much harder for women to attain and maintain personal wealth. Add in a lack of financial education specifically addressing women's life stages and its earning peaks and troughs , and it's a particularly hard circle to square. The problem has wider negative economic, social and cultural impacts, too. Women live longer and suffer from more chronic disease and pain, so they need a bigger pension pot to ensure their continued financial independence. Women who get divorced or are single parents are more likely to live in poverty and be dependent on the State for support. Europe is working to address these significant financial barriers. READ MORE The European Union acknowledges that gender equality remains a challenge across member states, with women still earning 12.7 per cent less than men and facing greater employment gaps. This particularly applies to mothers. While more women are graduating from university, many continue to encounter barriers such as unpaid labour, gender discrimination and gender-based violence. The EU's 2024 Gender Equality Index highlights slow and uneven progress and it stresses that gender inequality costs the EU an estimated €370 billion a year. The EU's Roadmap on Gender Equality addresses crucial issues such as work/life balance, equal employment opportunities, economic empowerment, quality education, access to healthcare and freedom from gender-based violence. It also acknowledges that gender inequality extends beyond the workplace, with global crises disproportionately affecting women's mental and physical health. Know your numbers Women are likely to have, and to make, less money than men. This deeply embedded structural inequality won't be solved overnight, so what steps do you need to take to make the most of your income at every stage of life and reduce your risk of future financial insecurity? As with most things, knowledge is power, so know your numbers and examine the gaps and potential pitfalls first. Women's income levels peak much earlier than men's – in their 30s – according to the Central Statistics Office. Men continue to increase their earnings over time while women's earnings stagnate. In 2022, the highest median annual earnings for women was in the 30-39 year age bracket (€42,350). The age group with the highest median annual earnings for men was 40-49 at €52,362. This was 23.8 per cent greater than the earnings for women in that age group (€42,297). The pensions gap between men and women is 36 per cent, Irish Life says. Women have to work eight years longer than men to have the same pension, yet their working lives are often shortened by caring responsibilities and they are in any case generally paid less. Where else can you find money to make up the shortfall? If you think a potential inheritance might help with your financial future, you need to think again. Recent research, Shaping Women's Fortunes: Inheritance and Gender Disparities by Louisa Roos and Naomi Crowther at Trinity College Dublin , found that inheritance should not be considered an effective tool to reduce gender inequality as it makes no permanent difference to gender wealth gaps. The economists compared women's and men's wealth and income pre and post inheritance using data from Sweden. They found inheritance does not create a balance between women and men's wealth in the longer term. Structural barriers to wealth accumulation had accrued over the woman's life cycle and, when women received an inheritance, they were more likely to invest the money conservatively, so they saw little capital growth. Moreover, women appeared to work less and care more for others after receiving an inheritance, so wage income reduced. Develop a freedom strategy Deirdre McCarthy, founder of Flit female finance, says many elements are needed to ensure a good financial outcome as women start out with less. As a single parent for 20 years, who also navigated her finances in the 'squeezed middle', even though she was earning well, she realised that the key was understanding her income as well as the entitlements, benefits, grants and tax refunds available. That inspired her to start her business and to help women come up with a plan for every stage of their life. Women tend to focus on immediate needs such as budgeting for groceries, saving for a school trip or paying the monthly bills, 'but we need to prioritise ourselves and not feel guilty about creating a longer-term strategy for our own financial future. Don't be the bottom of the list'. Her top tips are to be proactive and strategic about saving and about spending. Although it might seem a long way off, it's important to actively monitor and be involved in your pension. 'Choose a higher risk level for your pension when you're younger. Regularly check in on your pension and interact with your adviser. Ensure your pensions investments are aligned with your values and ethics,' she says. 'Be prepared to complain especially around transparency of fees and costs. Your annual pension report should clearly state all charges, commissions, fees, admin fees and fund related charges. 'Invest in assets, property and your education, and look to maximise the help you can get from others to do it. Make the most of government schemes (insulate your house, help with elderly parents, educational grants) that can make it happen. 'Know your tax credits: renters tax credit is now €1,000 per person or €2,000 for a couple, yet many people don't claim it.' 'Try to take a broad perspective on spending: you don't have to own something or buy it new to get use of it. Do you need a holiday home or are you better off renting one a few times a year? Same with a car. Buying an older car is better value and it's 65 per cent of the price.' One handy way to get a quick handle on your investments or debts is called the rule of 72, McCarthy says. This applies to cases of compound interest. 'Whatever net interest rate you're paying on a debt or gaining on an investment, divide it into 72. If you're making 4 per cent a year on an investment after charges then your investment would double in 18 years. At 6 per cent it will double in 12 years,' she says. 'It's the same with paying a debt of 6 per cent versus 8 per cent. If you've never made a repayment, the debt will also double in that time.' It's a good way to see how very small changes in percentages over time make a big difference. 'Women take a back seat on earnings as soon as kids arrive and they never recover psychologically or financially. The message is that work at home is worth less, so therefore they undervalue their work and their needs,' McCarthy says. She urges women to value themselves and plan for the future. As with your choice of life partner, your choice of employer is key. Ensure your employers' benefits are aligned to a woman's needs over time and be proactive about salary negotiations and proper pay reviews. 'There's also the upcoming EU pay transparency directive: call out any pay discrepancies and negotiate a raise. Ask, 'How do I get to the higher earnings level?' The employer in theory is obliged to tell you.' Margaret E Ward is chief executive of Clear Eye, a leadership consultancy. margaret@
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
Almost four out of 10 Irish earners are paying no income tax, says Revenue
While the number of taxpayer units earning enough to be liable for the standard rate will be just over 2.2 million, an estimated 1.06 million of these, or 30pc, will not pay anything because their liability is fully covered by their tax credits. Another 256,600 taxpayer units, or 7pc of the total, are exempt from income tax. The statistics, contained in an answer by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe to a Dáil question, means 37pc of earners will pay no income tax this year. In an annual report on the Irish economy, published yesterday, the European Commission emphasised the need to reduce the risks created by the high concentration of tax revenue among a relatively small number of payers. Ireland should broaden its tax base, given the reliance on relatively few foreign-owned multinationals, and there is particular scope for expanding the local property charge, the commission says. 'Ireland's labour-tax system is highly progressive, but it relies on a narrow tax base,' according to the report, which says the top 10pc of taxpayers accounted for approximately 60pc of the tax yield in 2022. This concentration of revenue means the tax base is vulnerable to economic shifts. Ireland's labour-tax revenues are well below the EU average, and 'to cope with high projected budget expenses, diversification in Ireland's public revenue structure is warranted', the report says. Ireland's share of labour taxes as a proportion of GDP is not even half the EU average, and remains below the EU average when adjusted to GNI*, a measure of economic activity that takes out the distorting effect of multinationals. There is also scope to expand the local property charge, since the revenue collected – which was 1.8pc of GNI* in 2022 – is also below the EU average, which was 2.1pc that year. On the spending side, the European Commission calls on Ireland to 'reinforce' defence spending in line with decisions reached by the European Council in March. The report points out that spending on defence in Ireland remained stable at 0.2pc of GDP between 2021 and 2023. According to its forecast, it will remain at this level for both last year and this year. This means there has been no change in four years. As the healthcare system is overly reliant on costly hospital care, exacerbated by the lack of universal primary care coverage, there is scope for reform to alleviate the strain on hospitals The commission says there are still concerns about the impact that spending by the healthcare system is having on fiscal sustainability. The ageing of the population is going to mean an increase in health spending of 1.5pc of GDP by 2070, while across the EU the average increase is projected to be 0.4pc. 'As the healthcare system is overly reliant on costly hospital care, exacerbated by the lack of universal primary care coverage, there is scope for reform to alleviate the strain on hospitals,' the report says. Given the heightened political uncertainty, Ireland's dependence on foreign multinationals needs to be looked at, and the European Commission warns there is an 'urgent need' to build a more resilient, innovation-driven domestic economy. It points out that spending on research and development (R&D) in Ireland is at one of the lowest rates in the EU, accounting for just 0.4pc of GNI*. This has led to a noticeable technology innovation gap between Irish SMEs and their counterparts in comparable European countries. 'Boosting R&D expenditure and providing targeted Research and Innovation (R&I) support could help boost SME productivity,' it says.
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
Almost 40pc of Irish earners are paying no income tax, says Revenue
While the number of taxpayer units earning enough to be liable for the standard rate will be just over 2.2 million, an estimated 1.06 million of these, or 30pc, will not pay anything because their liability is fully covered by their tax credits. Another 256,600 taxpayer units, or 7pc of the total, are exempt from income tax. The statistics, contained in an answer by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe to a Dáil question, means 37pc of earners will pay no income tax this year. In an annual report on the Irish economy, published yesterday, the European Commission emphasised the need to reduce the risks created by the high concentration of tax revenue among a relatively small number of payers. Ireland should broaden its tax base, given the reliance on relatively few foreign-owned multinationals, and there is particular scope for expanding the local property charge, the commission says. 'Ireland's labour-tax system is highly progressive, but it relies on a narrow tax base,' according to the report, which says the top 10pc of taxpayers accounted for approximately 60pc of the tax yield in 2022. This concentration of revenue means the tax base is vulnerable to economic shifts. Ireland's labour-tax revenues are well below the EU average, and 'to cope with high projected budget expenses, diversification in Ireland's public revenue structure is warranted', the report says. Ireland's share of labour taxes as a proportion of GDP is not even half the EU average, and remains below the EU average when adjusted to GNI*, a measure of economic activity that takes out the distorting effect of multinationals. There is also scope to expand the local property charge, since the revenue collected – which was 1.8pc of GNI* in 2022 – is also below the EU average, which was 2.1pc that year. On the spending side, the European Commission calls on Ireland to 'reinforce' defence spending in line with decisions reached by the European Council in March. The report points out that spending on defence in Ireland remained stable at 0.2pc of GDP between 2021 and 2023. According to its forecast, it will remain at this level for both last year and this year. This means there has been no change in four years. ADVERTISEMENT As the healthcare system is overly reliant on costly hospital care, exacerbated by the lack of universal primary care coverage, there is scope for reform to alleviate the strain on hospitals The commission says there are still concerns about the impact that spending by the healthcare system is having on fiscal sustainability. The ageing of the population is going to mean an increase in health spending of 1.5pc of GDP by 2070, while across the EU the average increase is projected to be 0.4pc. 'As the healthcare system is overly reliant on costly hospital care, exacerbated by the lack of universal primary care coverage, there is scope for reform to alleviate the strain on hospitals,' the report says. Given the heightened political uncertainty, Ireland's dependence on foreign multinationals needs to be looked at, and the European Commission warns there is an 'urgent need' to build a more resilient, innovation-driven domestic economy. It points out that spending on research and development (R&D) in Ireland is at one of the lowest rates in the EU, accounting for just 0.4pc of GNI*. This has led to a noticeable technology innovation gap between Irish SMEs and their counterparts in comparable European countries. 'Boosting R&D expenditure and providing targeted Research and Innovation (R&I) support could help boost SME productivity,' it says.
