The number is still well above the threshold to fall within the scope of the Digital Services Act.
ADVERTISEMENTUS social media platform X has seen a decline in EU users on its platform in the past year, according to figures the company disclosed on August 17 to fulfill its legal obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The company’s CEO Elon Musk recently sparred with the European Commission about compliance with the EU platform rules.
In the period 1 February to 31 July, the platform had some 105.9 million EU users, down from 111.4 million in the previous reporting period: August 1 2023 - January 31 2024.
In the months before that – February 1 until July 31 2023 – this was still at 112.2 million users. X claims that it has some 550 million monthly active users globally.
Despite this, the platform is still well above the threshold of 45 million monthly active users required to be considered a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the DSA by the European Commission.
Under the DSA, the largest online platforms – marketplaces, app stores and social media platforms – need to give information every six months about the average monthly active recipients of their services in the EU.
These numbers are used by the Commission to assess the obligations – such as user empowerment, diligent content moderation, protection of minors, transparency and accountability, and risk assessment.
Breton vs Musk
The Commission began a DSA probe into X over the handling of disinformation on the social media platform last December.
The EU executive said that X’s recent response to the UK riots – in which the platform’s billionaire owner amplified rhetoric which led to subsequent violence – could be taken into account in the ongoing investigation.
Last week, EU Commissioner Thierry Breton warned Musk about complying with the legal obligations under the DSA – including proportionate and effective mitigation measures regarding the amplification of harmful content – hours before a live interview with US Republican candidate Donald Trump on his platform.
Breton’s open letter irked Musk and others who claimed this was an act of foreign election interference.
Musk was backed by the US Republican members of the House Committee on the Judiciary who wrote to Breton calling on him to "stop any attempt to intimidate individuals or entities engaged in political speech in the United States".
Civil society organisations Access Now, Article 19 and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), also wrote to Breton to ask him to "stop the political posturing and ensure that the enforcement of the DSA be guided by evidence, and respect for human rights".
A spokesperson for the Commission said last week the letter was "of a general nature, and the Trump interview was an example of a large event that can have a spillover in the EU".
This article has been updated to include the letter sent by civil society organisations.
