EU regulators have determined that TikTok and Meta have violated the bloc’s regulations regarding unlawful or dangerous online material.
On Friday, the European Commission (EC) announced that initial findings indicate both firms are failing to meet Digital Services Act (DSA) requirements, which mandate that they provide researchers with sufficient access to public information.
The Commission criticized the processes and tools provided by Meta and TikTok for accessing public data as “onerous,” noting that researchers often end up with incomplete or unreliable information. This, according to the Commission, hampers “their capacity to study issues such as whether users, including minors, encounter illegal or harmful content.”
The Commission further stated that Meta’s services—Instagram and Facebook—also fail to meet requirements to offer EU users straightforward methods for reporting unlawful material. It pointed out that both platforms require users to go through multiple unnecessary steps to report content, and accused Facebook and Instagram of employing “dark patterns”—design tactics intended to steer user behavior.
“These methods can cause confusion and discourage users. As a result, Meta’s systems for reporting and removing illegal material may not function effectively,” the Commission said in a statement.
The EC also noted that the appeal processes on Meta’s platforms do not enable EU users to fully present their case or submit supporting evidence. “This restricts EU users’ ability to clarify their disagreement with Meta’s content decisions, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the appeals process,” the Commission stated.
These conclusions are part of ongoing probes into both companies that began in early 2024. The EC’s investigation into TikTok has focused on issues such as advertising transparency, researcher access to data, content moderation, and safeguarding minors, among other topics. The inquiry into Meta was initiated after suspicions arose that Facebook and Instagram were not adhering to rules for major platforms regarding election security.
The DSA is a set of EU regulations that oversee online platforms and content moderation, aiming to address growing concerns about consumer protection in the digital space. The law places additional obligations on large platforms like TikTok and Meta, particularly in areas such as algorithm transparency and managing systemic risks.
If violations of the DSA are confirmed, penalties can be as high as 6% of a company’s worldwide annual turnover.
The EC stated that both Meta and TikTok will have the opportunity to review the investigation files, contest the findings, and propose corrective measures.
Meta and TikTok have yet to respond to requests for comment.
