EUROPEAN COMMISSION OPENS FORMAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST TIKTOK FOR ALLEGED INFRINGEMENT OF THE DIGITAL SERVICES LAW
By Asier Martínez Jurio / Aquí Europa
The European Commission has initiated formal proceedings to assess whether TikTok may have infringed the Digital Services Act in relation to the protection of minors, advertising transparency, access to data for researchers, as well as risk management of addictive design and harmful content.
To date, the basis of an analysis of the risk assessment report submitted by TikTok in September 2023 has been taken into account, as well as TikTok’s responses to the Commission’s formal requests for information (on illegal content, protection of minors and access to data).
The highlights of the proceeding are:
– Compliance with obligations under the Digital Services Act that relate to the assessment and mitigation of systemic risks, in terms of actual or foreseeable negative effects arising from TikTok’s system design, including algorithmic systems, which may stimulate behavioral addictions or create so-called “rabbit hole effects”. This assessment is necessary to counter the potential risks to the exercise of the fundamental right to physical and mental well-being of the individual, respect for the rights of the child and its impact on radicalization processes. On the other hand, the mitigation measures in place in this regard, in particular the age verification tools used by TikTok to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate content, may not be reasonable, proportionate and effective;
– Compliance with obligations under the Digital Services Act to establish adequate and proportionate measures to ensure a high level of privacy, security and protection of minors, as it relates to default privacy settings for minors as part of the design and operation of its recommender systems;
– Compliance with obligations under the Digital Services Act to provide a reliable and accessible repository for advertisements presented on TikTok;
– The measures taken by TikTok to increase the transparency of its platform. The investigation concerns alleged shortcomings in granting researchers public access to TikTok data, as set out in Article 40 of the Digital Services Act.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President responsible for A Digital-Friendly Europe said: “The safety and well-being of online users in Europe are crucial. TikTok must take a close look at the services they offer and carefully consider the risks they pose to their users, both young and old. The Commission will now conduct an in-depth investigation without prejudice to the outcome.”
The formal opening of proceedings, the Commission will continue to gather evidence, for example by sending additional requests for information, conducting interviews or inspections.
The opening of formal proceedings facilitates the Commission to adopt further enforcement measures, such as interim measures and infringement decisions. The Commission also has the authority to accept any undertakings given by TikTok to remedy the matters that are the subject of the proceedings.
The Digital Services Act does not contain any statutory deadlines for terminating formal proceedings. The length of an in-depth investigation depends on several key factors, including the complexity of the matter, the degree of cooperation of the company concerned with the Commission and the exercise of the right of defense.
BACKGROUND
TikTok was deemed a large online platform on April 25, 2023, under the EU Digital Services Act, following its declaration that it exceeded more than 135.9 million monthly active users in the EU. As a VLOP, four months after its designation, TikTok had to start complying with a number of obligations set out in the Digital Services Act.
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This article was originally published in Aquí Europa, with whose permission we reproduce it.
