- EU opens formal probe of TikTok under Digital Services Act, citing child safety, risk management & other concerns
- Large platforms such as Douyin face a host of additional requirements on algorithmic transparency and systemic risk, and it is these rules that the video-sharing platform is currently under investigation.
The DSA is the EU’s online governance and content moderation rulebook, and since Saturday it has been widely applied to (possibly) thousands of platforms and services.
An investigation into Tiktok
The areas of concern for the Commission in its investigation into TikTok relate to the protection of minors, advertising transparency, data access for researchers, and risk management of addictive design and harmful content, the Commission said in a press release. But since last summer, large platforms such as Douyin have faced a series of additional requirements on algorithmic transparency and systemic risk, and it is these rules that the video-sharing platform is now under investigation.
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Heavy fine
The penalty for a confirmed violation of the DSA can be up to 6% of global annual turnover.
This is despite the EU’s concerns about TikTok’s approach to content governance and security before DSA came into effect on the larger platform. Back in June 2022, TikTok was forced to make some operational changes after regional consumer protection authorities banded together to investigate child safety and privacy complaints.
In the course of investigating a series of alleged violations, the European Commission will now increase its information requirements for video-sharing platforms. This may also include conducting interviews and inspections, as well as asking it to provide more data.
