The European Commission has taken a significant step in assessing the compliance of TikTok with the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The proceedings focus on potential breaches related to the protection of minors, advertising transparency, data access for researchers, and risk management of addictive design and harmful content.

Following a preliminary investigation, which included analysing a risk assessment report submitted by TikTok in September 2023 and reviewing the company’s responses to formal Requests for Information, the commission has formally initiated proceedings against TikTok under the DSA.

The primary areas of scrutiny during these proceedings include:

1. Systemic Risks and Addictive Design: The commission will investigate TikTok’s compliance with DSA obligations concerning the assessment and mitigation of systemic risks arising from the design, including algorithmic systems, which may lead to behavioural addictions and ‘rabbit hole effects.’ This includes evaluating the effectiveness of age verification tools in preventing minors’ access to inappropriate content.
2. Privacy and Safety for Minors: The commission will assess TikTok’s adherence to DSA obligations to implement appropriate measures ensuring a high level of privacy, safety, and security for minors. This includes examining default privacy settings for minors as part of the design and functionality of recommender systems.
3. Advertisement Transparency: TikTok’s compliance with DSA obligations to provide a searchable and reliable repository for advertisements will be under scrutiny during the investigation.
4. Transparency Measures: The investigation will focus on suspected shortcomings in giving researchers access to TikTok’s publicly accessible data, as mandated by Article 40 of the DSA.

The commission says the opening of formal proceedings does not prejudge the outcome, and an in-depth investigation will now be conducted as a matter of priority.

The current proceedings are without prejudice to any other potential conduct-related infringements under the DSA. The commission will continue gathering evidence, conduct interviews, and inspections, and may take enforcement steps such as interim measures or non-compliance decisions.