TikTok under scrutiny for potential breach of EU’s digital ad rules

Published 15/05/2025, 11:22
© Reuters.

Investing.com -- ByteDance’s social media platform, TikTok, might be violating the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) rules regarding advertisement information provided to users, according to the European Commission.

The Commission is the executive branch of the EU and is currently enforcing the bloc’s significant online-content regulations.

The Commission stated that TikTok does not supply the necessary information about the content of advertisements, the users targeted by ads, and the identity of ad payers. All this data is required to be in a database that the company must maintain to comply with the DSA rules.

Additionally, the Commission pointed out that TikTok’s ad repository does not allow the general public to thoroughly search for ads using the aforementioned information. This limitation hampers the repository’s usefulness.

Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s top tech enforcer, expressed the Commission’s initial view on the issue.

"TikTok is not complying with the DSA in key areas of its advertisement repository, preventing the full inspection of the risks brought about by its advertising and targeting systems," said Virkkunen.

If the Commission ultimately determines that TikTok is indeed violating the rules, the EU’s executive body has the authority to fine the company up to 6% of its annual global turnover.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

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