EU Commission: TikTok breaches DSA requirements for ads

According to the European Commission, TikTok operator ByteDance is not complying with regulations on ad transparency. The Commission has informed ByteDance that, according to its statements, the company is not complying with the relevant provisions of the Digital Services Act (DSA). Among other things, the DSA stipulates that particularly large platforms such as TikTok must maintain publicly accessible directories of advertisements and those who place them.

According to the EU Commission, the platform does not provide all the necessary information on target ad groups and those who place the ads. The supervisory authority also found that searchability was limited after analyzing internal documents, testing the relevant tools and interviewing experts.

Interference in election campaigns?

“Transparency in online advertisements – who pays for them and how the audience is targeted – is essential to ensure the public interest,” says Henna Virkkunen, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for digital affairs. “Whether we are defending the integrity of democratic elections, protecting public health or protecting consumers from fraudulent ads, citizens have a right to know who is behind the messages they see.”

Among other things, Virkkunen is addressing a problem that has been the subject of much public debate in recent months: the suspicion has been repeatedly voiced that ad campaigns on TikTok in election campaigns could be controlled by foreign actors. The ad register is an important source for researchers and the authorities to identify such attempts to exert influence.

What happens now

The allegations of a lack of ad transparency are only part of the proceedings that the EU Commission, as the body responsible for the particularly large providers, has been conducting against TikTok since February 2024. The company can officially comment on the preliminary results of the investigation that have now been announced. If the EU Commission's concerns are not allayed, it may impose penalties or force changes. Meanwhile, the Commission and ByteDance are still in talks beyond the enforcement of the law: Commission Vice-President Henna Virkkunen met with TikTok CEO Shou Chew in Brussels just last week.

(mma)