Elon Musk's X selling subscription services to extremist groups, report says

Platform could be 'materially supporting' Houthis and Hezbollah, counter-extremism group claims

Social media platform X reportedly accepted payment for subscriptions from extremist groups such as Hezbollah and Houthis. EPA

Social media platform X must take urgent steps to stop the sale of its subscription services to extremist groups, a US-based non-profit has said.

Last week, reports emerged that X, formerly Twitter, gave blue checks to accounts linked with sanctioned terrorist groups and individuals, including Hezbollah leaders and the recently re-designated Houthis.

Accepting even small amounts of money could be construed as "material support", according to the senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, Hans-Jakob Schindler.

Under US law, X is legally obliged to refrain from providing services to sanctioned groups in exchange for payment, and must promptly report illicit transactions to appropriate authorities.

"While some steps seem to have been taken to address this issue, X's belated response to this oversight, and only in the face of public scrutiny, is insufficient", Mr Schindler said.

The company's actions remain "deeply concerning and demonstrate an apparent disregard for its legal obligations", he added.

Elon Musk over the years - in pictures

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  Jared Kushner and Elon Musk watch the Fifa World Cup final match between Argentina and France. Getty Images

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  Mr Musk attends model and businesswoman Heidi Klum's 2022 Halloween party at Moxy Lower East Side, in New York City Getty

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  Mr Musk on stage next to Optimus the humanoid robot in Palo Alto, California, in September 2022 AFP

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  Mr Musk speaks at the Tesla Giga Texas manufacturing 'Cyber Rodeo' grand opening party, in Austin, Texas, in 2022 AFP

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  Mr Musk shakes hands with Brazil's then president Jair Bolsonaro, at the event Conecta Amazonia in Porto Feliz, Sao Paulo state, in 2022 AFP

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  Mr Musk and his mother, Maye Musk, arrive for the 2022 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, in 2022 AFP

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  Mr Musk attends the start of the production at Tesla's Gigafactory in Gruenheide, in 2022 AFP

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  Mikey Day as a lawyer, Cecily Strong as a judge, and host Mr Musk as Wario during the 'Wario' sketch on NBC's 'Saturday Night Live', in 2021 Getty

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  Mr Musk and son X Æ A-12 onstage at 'Time' Person of the Year in New York, in 2021 AFP

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  Mr Musk dancing onstage during a delivery event for Tesla's China-made Model 3 cars in Shanghai, in 2021 Reuters

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  Mr Musk with Armin Laschet, at the time CDU party federal chairman and prime minister of Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia, at the Tesla Gigafactory in Gruenheide, in 2021 Getty

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  Mr Musk at the construction site of the Tesla Gigafactory in Gruenheide, near Berlin, Germany, in 2020 EPA

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  Mr Musk leaves a New York court in 2019, after a hearing in a lawsuit brought against him by the US Securities and Exchange Commission Getty

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  A prototype of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft in Boca Chica, Texas, in 2019 Reuters

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  Mr Musk and then partner Grimes at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, in 2018 AFP

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  From left, Mr Musk, Corning chief executive Wendell Weeks, then US president Donald Trump and Johnson & Johnson chief executive Alex Gorsky at the White House, in 2017 AFP

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  Mr Musk presents his plan to colonise Mars at the International Astronautics Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2016 EPA

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  Mr Musk with then Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe after a test drive of the Tesla Model S P85D in Palo Alto, California, in 2015 Reuters

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  Mr Musk with then wife Talulah Riley at the 2011 British Academy Film Awards in London Getty

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  Mr Musk after Tesla's initial public offering at the Nasdaq market in New York, in 2010 Reuters

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  Then US president Barack Obama with Mr Musk on a tour of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 2010 Reuters

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  Mr Musk in the Tesla Roadster electric car at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, in 2009 Reuters

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  Mr Musk with music producer Quincy Jones at the Tesla Roadster launch party in 2008 AFP

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  Mr Musk answers questions about the new Tesla Model S all-electric car, at its unveiling in Hawthorne, California, in 2009 AFP

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  Elon Musk in Los Angeles in 2008. Getty

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  Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk in 2004 Getty

"If X continues to grant subscriptions to accounts affiliated with designated terrorist organisations and individuals, it raises serious questions about the company’s commitment to the law. Social media platforms must remember that the First Amendment does not protect terrorism financing.”

Last week Tech Transparency Group, a non-profit which monitors the tech industry, reported that it had found 28 blue check mark accounts associated with US-sanctioned entities.

In response, the Elon Musk-owned company posted that it would review the accounts in question and removed several of the check marks later that day.

X gives blue checks to users who pay $8 a month for its premium subscription service.

However, its terms of service prohibits the sale of subscriptions to entities that are on the US Treasury Department's sanctions list.

"As social media platforms continue to face difficulties in reducing extremist content online, it is clear that more needs to be done to make them aware of their responsibilities", the CEP added.

"Moving forward, it is imperative for X to prioritise compliance with US laws and ensure that its platform is not exploited for illicit purposes."