The European Union fired another shot at big tech, starting an investigation on ByteDance’s TikTok.
The European Commission officially opened an investigative probe on TikTok. The Chinese social network, owned by ByteDance, is the 5th largest in the world and boasts 125 million monthly active users in the European Union.
The probe will be conducted under the Digital Services Act (DSA) provisions. This legislative measure was drafted last year and went into effect in January. According to the DSA, online platforms operating in the EU must actively fight illegal online content and risks to public security.
TikTok ended in the Commission’s target for its alleged dangers to minors, particularly the addictive behaviors it generates in younger generations. The Commission is set to investigate the so-called “rabbit hole effect” caused by doomscrolling on the platform.
“Today we open an investigation into TikTok over suspected breach of transparency & obligations to protect minors: addictive design & screen time limits, rabbit hole effect, age verification, default privacy settings,” said EU industry chief Thierry Breton on X (formerly known as Twitter).
For its part, TikTok said it will cooperate with the Commission in the investigation. According to people familiar with the matter, ByteDance’s company may be forced to pay up to 6% of its annual turnover.
The Chinese social media is also under investigation in the United States over an alleged illegal accumulation of users’ data.
Crackdown on big tech
TikTok is the second social network to fall under investigation according to the DSA provisions. Earlier in the year, Elon Musk’s X was also the target of scrutiny by EU authorities.
Following Hamas’ attacks on October 7th, a swath of fabricated pictures and videos appeared all over Musk’s platforms. This prompted the EU to activate DSA measures to prevent the spread of misinformation.
In general, however, an increasing number of tech companies are being questioned by Brussels. On Sunday, the Commission announced it will fine Apple for $500 million for violating the bloc’s antitrust rules.
Brussels is increasingly wary of big tech’s dominance over European citizens, especially because these companies are not based in the EU. Next March, the EU will unveil a new Digital Market Act, which will provide leverage to smaller tech firms against American and Chinese giants.
At the moment, the EU’s biggest concern is the addictive behaviors these platforms generate, as well as the mass collection of personal data and the spread of misinformation. According to the EU privacy watchdog, they are finding increasingly more cooperation from US authorities, also concerned with these matters but with less regulating power.
