European users leave Elon Musk's X amid scandals

The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter and owned by Elon Musk, has experienced a significant decline in its European user base. According to recent reports, since August 2024, the platform has lost approximately 11 million users across Europe, marking a 10.5% decrease. Notably, France saw a reduction of 2.7 million users, Poland 1.8 million, and Germany 1.3 million. Smaller countries like Lithuania and Luxembourg experienced a 25% drop in user numbers.

This exodus is attributed to various factors, including Musk's controversial political engagements and changes to the platform's content moderation policies. Since acquiring Twitter in 2022 and rebranding it as X, Musk has been criticized for amplifying far-right content and reducing oversight on hate speech and misinformation.

The European Commission has initiated formal investigations into X's compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA), focusing on the platform's handling of illegal content, transparency in advertising, and potential algorithmic biases favoring extremist content.

In response to these developments, several prominent institutions and individuals have distanced themselves from X. The city of Paris deactivated its official account in January 2025, joining others like author Stephen King, the University of Leeds, and The Guardian newspaper in leaving the platform.

The ongoing scrutiny and user departures underscore the challenges X faces in maintaining its European presence amidst regulatory pressures and public disapproval.