By Micah Jonah
January 11, 2026
Elon Musk has announced that social media platform X will make its new recommendation algorithm publicly available within the next seven days, including the full code used for both organic content and advertising posts.
In a post on X on Saturday, Musk said the platform would repeat the process every four weeks, alongside detailed developer notes, explaining what has changed. He said the move is aimed at increasing transparency, helping users and developers better understand how content is ranked and promoted on the platform.
The announcement comes amid continued regulatory scrutiny of X in Europe. Earlier this week, the European Commission said it had extended a data retention order issued to X last year, concerning its algorithms and the spread of illegal content, prolonging the order until the end of 2026.
X has also faced legal, regulatory pressure in several European countries. In July 2025, French prosecutors launched an investigation into the platform over suspected algorithmic bias, alleged fraudulent data extraction. X described the probe at the time as a politically motivated criminal investigation which threatens freedom of expression.
Last month, the European Union imposed a €120million fine on X, saying the company breached transparency requirements under the Digital Services Act. Regulators cited issues including the platform’s blue checkmark subscription system, insufficient transparency around its advertising repository, and failure to provide researchers with access to public data.
Musk responded angrily to the fine, posting an obscenity in reply to a European Commission statement about the penalty.
The decision to open source X’s algorithm is expected to intensify debate over platform transparency, content moderation and regulatory oversight, as governments and researchers gain unprecedented insight into how one of the world’s largest social media platforms operates.
