The European Union has launched an investigation into whether TikTok may have broken EU laws concerning the protection of minors, advertising transparency, and data sharing.
On Feb. 19, the European Commission—the EU’s executive branch—announced that it has begun formal investigative proceedings into whether TikTok is in breach of the EU’s 2022 Digital Services Act (DSA).
“On the basis of the preliminary investigation conducted so far, including on the basis of an analysis of the risk assessment report sent by TikTok in September 2023, as well as TikTok’s replies to the Commission’s formal Requests for Information (on illegal content, protection of minors, and data access), the Commission has decided to open formal proceedings against TikTok under the Digital Services Act,” the commission announced.
The EU investigation will focus on four specific areas of interest: whether TikTok’s algorithms may stimulate addictions or “create so-called ‘rabbit hole effects’” for users; whether TikTok ensures privacy, safety, and security for minors using the platform, including age verification measures; whether TikTok complies with DSA requirements to provide a searchable repository of advertisements appearing on the platform; and whether TikTok has provided researchers with sufficient levels of data about the platform.
The investigation poses regulatory risks for TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance. If the video-sharing application is found to be in breach of DSA provisions, it could face fines of up to 6 percent of its global revenue.
A TikTok spokesperson told Reuters that it would continue to work with experts and the industry to keep young people on its platform safe and that it looked forward to explaining this work in detail to the European Commission.
“TikTok has pioneered features and settings to protect teens and keep under 13s off the platform, issues the whole industry is grappling with,” the TikTok spokesperson said.
European Commission Investigating X
The investigation into TikTok marks the second time the European Commission has initiated an investigation into a leading online platform for potential DSA violations. The European Commission opened a formal investigation in December 2023 against the X social media platform, previously known as Twitter, over whether the platform has taken sufficient steps to police online speech regarding the ongoing Israel–Hamas conflict.The European Commission’s investigation of X specifically focuses on whether the platform allowed content that is illegal under the DSA to be shared “in the context of Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel” when Hamas terrorists breached the Israel–Gaza barrier on Oct. 7, 2023, and proceeded to kill hundreds of people.
Under EU laws, illegal online content can include a number of categories, such as content that incites or otherwise contributes to terrorism. Illegal content under EU laws can also include hate speech and incitement to violence. The European Commission didn’t specify exactly what types of content appeared on X following the Hamas attacks that might constitute illegal online content, but it’s known that images of the attacks were captured and shared on the platform.
“X is focused on creating a safe and inclusive environment for all users on our platform, while protecting freedom of expression, and we will continue to work tirelessly towards this goal,” the social media platform stated after the investigation was announced in December 2023.
The European Commission has yet to release any new details about its investigation into X.
