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The European Union is officially investigating TikTok’s compliance with the bloc’s rules. Digital Services Act (DSA), announced the Commission.
The areas that the Commission is focusing on in this investigation into TikTok are related to the protection of minors, transparency of advertising, access to data for researchers and the management of risks linked to addictive design and harmful content, she said in a statement. Press release.
The DSA is the bloc’s rulebook for online governance and content moderation that, as of Saturday, has applied broadly to – likely – thousands of platforms and services. However, since last summer, larger platforms, like TikTok, have faced a set of additional requirements in areas such as algorithmic transparency and systemic risk and it is these rules that are currently under investigation at the video sharing platform.
Today’s decision follows several months of information gathering by the Commission, which enforces the DSA rules for large platforms, including in areas such as child protection And risks of misinformation.
Although EU concerns over TikTok’s approach to content governance and safety predates the entry into force of the DSA on larger platforms. The platform was also forced to make some operational adjustments previously, in 2017. June 2022after regional consumer protection authorities banded together to investigate security and privacy complaints.
It will now step up its requests for information from the platform as it investigates suspected violations, possibly conducting interviews and inspections. There is no formal deadline for the Commission to conclude this in-depth investigation.
TikTok has been contacted for comment on the formal EU investigation. A company spokesperson emailed us this statement:
Tic Tac has pioneered features and settings to protect teens and keep those under 13 off the platform, issues the entire industry is grappling with. We will continue to work with experts and industry to keep young people active Tic Tac safely and I look forward to now having the opportunity to explain this work in detail to the Commission.
In its press release, the Commission states that the investigation into TikTok’s compliance with DSA systemic risk obligations will examine “actual or foreseeable adverse effects” arising from the design of its system, including its algorithms. The EU is concerned that TikTok’s UX could “stimulate behavioral addictions and/or create ‘rabbit hole effects'”, as its PR puts it.
“Such an assessment is necessary to counter the potential risks for the exercise of the fundamental right to the physical and mental well-being of the person, to respect for the rights of the child as well as its impact on radicalization processes,” writes- it again.
The Commission is also concerned that the mitigation measures put in place by TikTok to protect children from access to inappropriate content – namely age verification tools – “may not be reasonable, proportionate and effective” .
It will therefore also examine whether TikTok complies with “DSA obligations to put in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors, in particular with regard to default privacy settings for minors in the design”. and the operation of their recommendation systems.
Elsewhere, the bloc’s investigation will examine whether TikTok meets the DSA requirement to provide “a searchable and reliable repository” for advertisements served on its platform.
Still on the subject of transparency, the Commission says its investigation concerns “alleged failings” by TikTok when it comes to providing researchers with access to publicly available data on its platform so that they can study systemic risk in the EU – such access to data being made mandatory by Article 40 of the DSA.
Commenting in a statement, Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President of Digital, said:
The safety and well-being of online users in Europe is crucial. TikTok needs to take a hard look at the services they offer and carefully consider the risks they pose to their users, young and old. The Commission will now carry out a thorough investigation without prejudging its outcome.
In another supporting statement, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton stressed that: “The protection of minors is an absolute priority when it comes to the application of the DSA. »
“As a platform that reaches millions of children and adolescents, TikTok must fully comply with the DSA and has a special role to play in protecting minors online,” he added. “Today we are launching this formal infringement procedure to ensure that proportionate measures are taken to protect the physical and emotional well-being of young Europeans. We must spare no effort to protect our children.
This is the second such proceeding under the DSA, after the bloc opened an investigation into X (formerly Twitter), owned by Elon Musk, in 2017. Decemberalso citing a range of concerns.
Sanctions for confirmed breaches of the DSA can reach up to 6% of global annual turnover. Once an investigation has been opened, EU law enforcement can also access a wider toolbox, such as the ability to take interim measures before the conclusion of formal proceedings.
The EU may also accept commitments offered by a platform under investigation if they aim to resolve the identified issues.
Around twenty platforms are subject to the DSA’s algorithmic transparency and systemic risk rules. These are defined as platforms with over 45 million regional monthly active users. In the case of TikTok, the platform informed the bloc last year that it had 135.9 million monthly active users in the EU.
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