EU Commission Probes TikTok’s Compliance with Digital Services Act
The European Union is scrutinizing TikTok to determine if the social media platform has violated the bloc’s stringent digital regulations aimed at safeguarding users online. The European Commission has initiated formal proceedings to evaluate whether TikTok has contravened the Digital Services Act (DSA), which was implemented last year. The DSA encompasses a wide array of rules intended to enhance online user safety, such as facilitating the reporting of harmful or illegal content like hate speech, offering users alternatives to algorithmic suggestions, and prohibiting advertisements targeted at children.
The commission is honing in on whether TikTok is adequately addressing “systemic risks” associated with its design, including the potential for “behavioral addictions” spurred by its algorithmic systems. It has raised concerns that measures like age verification tools to prevent minors from accessing “inappropriate content” may not be sufficiently “reasonable, proportionate, and effective.” Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, stressed the critical importance of safeguarding minors under the DSA, emphasizing TikTok’s responsibility in protecting young users online.
TikTok has asserted its commitment to implementing features and settings to shield teenagers and prevent under-13s from accessing the platform, an issue that the entire industry is grappling with. The company has pledged to collaborate with experts and industry stakeholders to ensure the safety of young individuals on TikTok and welcomes the opportunity to elaborate on its efforts to the Commission.
In addition to TikTok’s measures for protecting minors, the EU is examining the platform’s privacy safeguards, transparency in advertising, and its cooperation with researchers for data access. Nearly two dozen major online and social media platforms, including TikTok, have been identified by the EU for intensified scrutiny under the DSA, entailing substantial fines for non-compliance. The EU is currently investigating Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, for various breaches, including the failure to mitigate the proliferation of illicit content.