Ireland launches investigation into Elon Musk’s X on content moderation

Ireland’s media watchdog says it will investigate whether people can challenge content moderation decisions made by Elon Musk’s social media platform X.

Coimisiún na Meán said it will test whether people can appeal X’s decisions to not remove content that seemingly breaches the platform’s terms of service, whether people are told about the outcome of reports they’ve made, and whether X has an easy-to-access complaints-handing mechanism.

The regulator said it has concerns that X is violating the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires users to have access to an “effective internal complaint-handling system,” where they can lodge complaints and appeal decisions.

If the investigation finds that X does not comply with the DSA, the watchdog said it can impose fines up to 6 per cent of a company’s turnover.

The social media platform could also sign an agreement with the Irish regulator to address any compliance issues.

This isn't the first time that Coimisiún na Meán has launched an investigation into conduct on X. In June, it asked for more information about how the platform protects children from harmful content.

Failure to comply could result in a fine of up to €500,000.

The regulator also opened an investigation in 2024 into whether X, along with several other major platforms, make it easy for users to report illegal content and provide a clear point of contact to make complaints.

Last year, the European Commission found X in preliminary breach of the DSA’s provisions on digital advertising, data access, and “dark patterns” used to influence users’ behaviours without their consent.