The European Union said Monday it’s investigating whether TikTok has broken the bloc’s strict latest digital rules for cleansing up social media and keeping web users protected.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, said it has “opened formal proceedings to evaluate” whether TikTok has breached the Digital Services Act, which took effect last yr.
The DSA is a sweeping set of regulations designed to maintain web users protected online, including requirements to make it easier to flag harmful or illegal content like hate speech, give users alternatives to algorithmic recommendations and ban ads targeted at children.
The commission is specializing in whether TikTok is doing enough to curb “systemic risks” stemming from its design, including “algorithmic systems” that may stimulate “behavioral addictions.”
It said measures including age verification tools to stop minors from finding “inappropriate content” may not be “reasonable, proportionate and effective.”
“The protection of minors is a top enforcement priority for the DSA. As a platform that reaches tens of millions of kids and teenagers, TikTok must fully comply with the DSA and has a selected role to play within the protection of minors online,” Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, said in a press release. “We’re launching this formal infringement proceeding today to be sure that proportionate motion is taken to guard the physical and emotional well-being of young Europeans.”
TikTok has “pioneered features and settings to guard teens and keep under 13s off the platform, issues the entire industry is grappling with,” the corporate said in an announcement. “We’ll proceed to work with experts and industry to maintain young people on TikTok protected, and look ahead to now having the chance to clarify this work intimately to the Commission.”
The commission can be investigating TikTok’s privacy measures for minors, its transparency on advertisements, and whether it’s giving researchers access to data.
The EU has deemed nearly two dozen of the largest online and social media platforms including TikTok, as ones that deserve the best level of scrutiny under the DSA and hefty fines in the event that they fail to comply.
The bloc is already investigating Elon Musk’s X, previously often called Twitter, for breaches including failure to curb the spread of illegal content.
