European regulators just slapped a major social media platform with a €120 million penalty. The charge sheet? Three strikes that matter for anyone watching how tech governance evolves.

First up: that blue verification badge everyone obsesses over turned out to be more misleading than helpful. Then there's the murky ad ecosystem—transparency was apparently optional. But here's the kicker that crypto folks should note: blocking independent researchers from accessing publicly available data.

That last point hits different when you're building in an industry that champions open data and verifiable information. Traditional platforms gatekeep while preaching openness. Meanwhile, blockchain protocols are literally designed around public, permissionless data access.

The fine itself matters less than what it signals. Regulators are finally scrutinizing how centralized platforms handle information flow and user trust. For Web3 builders, this validates the thesis: transparency isn't a feature request anymore—it's becoming a regulatory requirement.

Makes you wonder how many other platforms are playing similar games with verification systems and data access.