X Platform Sues Irish Media Regulator Coimisiún na Meán

The Irish media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, faces a legal challenge from social media giant X (formerly Twitter). Elon Musk's platform has appealed to the High Court against the regulator's decision regarding procedures for investigating user complaints. The dispute centers on an October 2025 decision that allowed the regulator to transfer information gathered from individual user complaints to an internal Platform Oversight Team. This team would assess the data for potential future, broad-ranging investigations into alleged systemic issues on the platform. X claims such action is unlawful. According to company representatives, the regulator cannot legally transfer information from already closed, ongoing, or unresolved complaints to another department for further, unspecified investigations. X's lawyer, Neil Steen, described this practice as a "semantic trick". He indicated that after concluding an official, specific investigation, the regulator cannot continue an inquiry under a different pretext. He also demanded that both the platform and complainants be informed in advance of any planned new actions based on data from closed cases. The regulation of online platforms in the European Union is based on the Digital Services Act (DSA) adopted in 2022, which imposes content moderation and transparency obligations on large platforms like X. Ireland, being the headquarters of the European branches of many global technology companies, plays a key role in enforcing these regulations through its regulatory bodies. X's lawyers filed an application with the court for the immediate suspension of the regulator's controversial decision. The lawsuit also argues that the law does not contain provisions allowing a delegate (in this case, the team investigating complaints) to re-delegate its powers to another delegate (the Platform Oversight Team) for future use. The case was heard in the Irish High Court and highlights growing tensions between global social media platforms and European regulators seeking to enforce stricter content accountability standards. „The commission was attempting to deploy a "semantic trick".” — Neil Steen SC The case is being closely watched, as its outcome could have implications for the scope of media regulators' powers in the EU to conduct long-term, systemic oversight of online platforms beyond the framework of individual complaints.