X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, may be violating U.S. sanctions by accepting payments for premium accounts linked to Hezbollah and other sanctioned groups, according to a new report from the Tech Transparency Project.
The Tech Transparency Project identified 28 accounts linked to Hezbollah and Iranian and Russian state-run media that had either blue or gold checkmarks, indicating that they may have paid for X Premium or Verified Organization status.
“The fact that X requires users to pay a monthly or annual fee for premium service suggests that X is engaging in financial transactions with these accounts, a potential violation of U.S. sanctions,” the report noted.
X appears to host blue checkmark accounts for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and his second in command, Naim Qassem, despite being subject to sanctions for their roles in the U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, according to the report.
Hassan Moukalled, who the Treasury Department describes as a key Hezbollah money exchanger, and Al-Manar TV, a Hezbollah-linked television operation, also have blue checkmark accounts on the platform.
Press TV, the English-language channel of Iran’s state broadcaster, and Tinkoff Bank, a Russian commercial bank, both have accounts with gold checkmarks, signifying Verified Organization status on X.
Two other accounts affiliated with Iranian state media and another belonging to NTV, a Russian state-owned television station, have blue checkmarks, the report found.
The Tech Transparency Project also highlighted blue checkmark accounts associated with an Iran-sponsored militia group, the Houthi rebels and relatives of the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and the late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, all of whom are subject to U.S. sanctions.
The issue has emerged since X changed its verification policy, which previously provided checkmarks to politicians, celebrities and other high-profile users for free.
Now, users must pay between $8 and $16 a month for X Premium to receive a blue checkmark or between $200 and $1,000 a month for Verified Organization status to receive a gold checkmark.
“For years, Twitter, as X was previously known, allowed U.S.-sanctioned individuals and entities to use free accounts on the platform, an arrangement that some legal experts said was permissible under U.S. sanctions law,” the report said. “But by providing a premium, paid service to sanctioned entities, X may be raising new legal issues.”