Elon Musk's X brings another five judicial review actions against Coimisiún na Meán

By challenging multiple individual complaint decisions, X may be seeking to establish a legal precedent that could then be relied upon in other cases involving similar issues. File photo: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP

Social media giant X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has taken a High Court action against media regulator Coimisiún na Meán, the latest in a string of cases tied to Ireland’s new Digital Services Act.

The company, formerly known as Twitter, lodged five judicial review actions against the regulator on Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing to 12 the number of cases lodged by the tech company since last November.

Judicial reviews relate to any decisions made by State representatives, bodies, or agencies, which can be challenged as to their correctness or otherwise in law.

The applications are believed to centre on individual decisions taken by Coimisiún na Meán in response to complaints made under the Digital Services Act 2024.

X is the only tech company to have taken legal action against the commission in this manner. The earliest the new cases are expected to be heard before the High Court is November.

X’s previous seven actions include: 

One appeal concerning a High Court ruling in June 2025 in favour of  Coimisiún na Meán regarding the regulator’s Online Safety Code; Two cases relating to investigations of X regarding allegations the company breached Article 20 of the DSA; Four actions with regard to complaints made under the DSA.

By challenging multiple individual complaint decisions, X may be seeking to establish a legal precedent that could then be relied upon in other cases involving similar issues.

The complaints can relate to alleged breaches of users' rights by online platforms and are not necessarily limited to complainants based in Ireland.

As X’s European headquarters are based in Ireland  Coimisiún na Meán is the de facto regulator for all complaints under the Act made against the company from European locations.

A spokesperson for  Coimisiún na Meán said the regulator is “aware that X Internet Unlimited has filed five judicial review applications earlier this week, but we have not yet seen the High Court papers”.

X did not respond to a query regarding the latest case.

Digital Services Act

The Digital Services Act 2024 was introduced to give effect in Irish law to the EU's Digital Services Act and to establish the regulatory framework for its enforcement.

The legislation is intended to make the internet safer for users by imposing obligations on digital platforms and providing regulators with powers to take action against illegal or harmful content and other breaches.

The Act designates  Coimisiún na Meán as the lead authority for digital services, giving it the authority to investigate potential breaches under the Act and to enforce any resulting penalties.

The regulation of Big Tech — particularly American corporations like X, Google, and Meta — is a major issue straining relations between the EU and the US at present.

Last December, the EU levied a fine of €120m on X having found that the platform had misled users with its paid blue checkmarks, the first of its kind issued on the back of the bloc’s new online safety laws.

The relevant breaches by X included the “deceptive design” of the company’s blue checkmark system, its lack of transparency around advertising, and its failure to provide public data to researchers.