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The European Union has initiated an investigation into TikTok’s adherence to the Digital Services Act (DSA), focusing on potential breaches related to the protection of minors and transparent advertising practices. Under the DSA, large online platforms are obligated to address illegal content and safeguard public security.
The investigation comes amid concerns regarding TikTok’s impact on children’s privacy and safety, including issues such as addictive design, screen time limits, age verification effectiveness, and default privacy settings. If found guilty of violating DSA regulations, TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, could face fines of up to 6% of its global turnover.
TikTok has responded by stating its commitment to working with experts and the industry to ensure the safety of young users on its platform. The company highlights its efforts in pioneering features and settings aimed at protecting teenagers and preventing underage users from accessing inappropriate content.
The European Commission’s inquiry will delve into TikTok’s system design, including algorithmic mechanisms that could potentially encourage addictive behavior and create what’s known as ‘rabbit hole effects’. Additionally, the investigation will assess whether TikTok has implemented adequate measures to ensure privacy, safety, and security for minors, and whether it provides transparent information about advertisements on its platform.
As social media companies operating in the EU are bound by the DSA’s obligations, the outcome of this investigation will have significant implications for TikTok’s operations within the region. This marks the second formal probe launched by the European Commission against a large social media company in recent months, demonstrating the EU’s commitment to enforcing online content rules and protecting users’ rights.
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