Earlier, the European CommissionAllegationsMeta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) and TikTok have been accused of violating the Digital Services Act (DSA). The company is accused of failing to effectively address illegal content, hindering researchers' access to platform data, and even failing to comply with Meta's content complaint mechanism. The European Commission has given both companies an opportunity to improve, or face fines of up to 6% of their global annual turnover.
Meta: The reporting mechanism is cumbersome and the appeal process is ineffective
The European Commission has made two main allegations against Meta:
• Lack of friendly reporting mechanism for illegal content:
The European Commission noted that existing mechanisms on Facebook and Instagram require users to go through "multiple steps" to flag illegal content (such as child sexual abuse material CSAM).
Furthermore, its interface design uses dark mode, making the reporting process confusing and discouraging users from reporting. These factors violate the Digital Services Act’s requirement that online platforms provide an “easy-to-use” reporting mechanism.
• Ineffective appeals process for content removal/account suspension:
The Digital Services Act requires users to be able to challenge decisions by social platforms to remove content or suspend accounts. However, the European Commission found that neither Facebook nor Instagram allowed users to "explain their position" or "provide evidence to substantiate their complaint" in their appeals, significantly limiting the effectiveness of the appeals process.
TikTok and Meta share a common problem: hindering researchers' access to data
In addition to the above-mentioned allegations against Meta, the European Commission also accused both Meta and TikTok of setting up cumbersome procedures and tools, which significantly increased the difficulty for researchers to request access to their public data in accordance with the Digital Services Act.
The European Commission stressed that this difficulty results in researchers obtaining incomplete or unreliable information when studying important topics such as how minors are exposed to illegal or harmful content online. The Commission reiterated that "allowing researchers to access platform data is a necessary transparency obligation under the Digital Services Act."
The maximum fine could be 6% of global annual revenue.
According to the Digital Services Act, Meta and TikTok will be able to respond to the European Commission's investigation results in writing after reviewing the Commission's investigation documents, or implement adjustments to comply with the relevant provisions of the Digital Services Act.
If the European Commission ultimately determines that it is still non-compliant, it will impose a fine of up to 6% of its global annual turnover.
Meta emphasizes compliance with regulations, while TikTok claims the Digital Services Act conflicts with GDPR.
Meta responded to the EU's allegations to the Financial Times.display"In the EU, we have made changes to our content reporting options, appeals process, and data access tools since the Digital Services Act came into effect, and we believe these solutions comply with EU law," Meta said in a statement.
TikTok said it was reviewing the Commission's findings but stressed that the requirement to relax data protection measures put the Digital Services Act in direct conflict with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). TikTok called on regulators for guidance on how to reconcile these obligations.
