EU preliminary findings note TikTok breached DSA

The European Commission (EC) has stated that successful its preliminary findings, societal media level TikTok was recovered to person breached the Digital Services Act (DSA).

According to the EC, TikTok has not fulfilled the DSA's work to people an advertisement repository.

The probe into TikTok was launched connected 19 February 2024.

European Commission tech sovereignty, information and ideology enforcement vice-president Henna Virkkunen said: “Transparency successful online advertizing — who pays and however audiences are targeted — is indispensable to safeguarding the nationalist interest. Whether we are defending the integrity of our antiauthoritarian elections, protecting nationalist health, oregon protecting consumers from scam ads, citizens person a close to cognize who is down the messages they see.

“In our preliminary view, TikTok is not complying with the DSA successful cardinal areas of its advertisement repository, preventing the afloat inspection of the risks brought astir by its advertizing and targeting systems.”

The Commission highlighted that specified a repository is “critical” for researchers and civilian nine to place scam advertisements, hybrid threats, coordinated accusation operations, and fake ads, peculiarly surrounding elections.

TikTok’s existent repository lacks details connected the contented of ads, targeted users, and those who financed the advertisements, EU stated.

Additionally, the committee recovered that TikTok’s repository does not let the nationalist to behaviour broad searches utilizing this information, successful crook restricting its functionality.

These preliminary findings travel an in-depth probe involving the investigation of interior institution documents, investigating of TikTok’s tools, and adept interviews.

In a property statement, EU said: “TikTok present has the anticipation to workout its rights of defence by examining the documents successful the Commission's probe record and by replying successful penning to the Commission's preliminary findings.”

If the findings are yet confirmed, the Commission could contented a non-compliance decision. This whitethorn effect successful a good of up to 6% of TikTok’s planetary yearly turnover and an enhanced supervision play to guarantee the level addresses the breach.

The Commission whitethorn besides enforce periodic punishment payments to enforce compliance.

In summation to advertizing transparency, the probe is examining the effects of TikTok’s algorithmic design, including behavioural addiction and the alleged “rabbit spread effects,” arsenic good arsenic aspects specified arsenic property verification, privateness and information for minors, and entree to information for researchers.

Earlier In May 2025, TikTok faced €530m ($598.8m) good by the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) of Ireland for violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) successful narration to the transportation of idiosyncratic information from the European Economic Area (EEA) to China.