[ad_1]
The EU is formally investigating TikTok’s compliance with the block Digital Services Act (DSA), the Commission has announced.
The areas the Commission is focusing on in this investigation of TikTok are the protection of minors, advertising transparency, data access for researchers and risk management of addictive design and harmful content. Press release,
The DSA is the block’s online governance and content moderation rulebook, which came into force broadly across — potentially — thousands of platforms and services as of Saturday. But since last summer, Big platforms, like TikTok, It faced a set of additional requirements in areas such as algorithmic transparency and systemic risk, and it is these regulations under which video-sharing platforms are now being scrutinized.
Fines for confirmed violations of the DSA can reach up to 6% of global annual turnover.
Today’s move follows several months of information gathering by the Commission, which enforces DSA rules for large platforms – including requests for information from TikTok. child protection And risks of disinformation,
However the EU has concerns over TikTok’s approach to content governance and security before the implementation of DSA On big platforms. And TikTok has been forced to make some operational changes before too June 2022After regional consumer protection authorities came together to investigate child protection and privacy complaints.
The commission will now step up its information requests on the video sharing platform as it investigates suspected violations. This may include conducting interviews and observations as well as asking for more data to be sent.
There is no formal time limit for the EU to complete these in-depth investigations – its press release just says that the duration depends on a number of factors, such as “the complexity of the case, the extent to which the company concerned has complied with the Commission and Cooperates with the exercise of the rights of defence”.
TikTok was contacted for comment on the formal investigation. A spokesperson for the company emailed us this statement:
TIC Toc It has pioneered features and settings to protect teens and keep people under 13 off the platform, problems the entire industry is grappling with. We will continue to work with experts and industry to advance youth TIC Toc is safe, and the Commission now hopes to have an opportunity to explain this work in detail.
TikTok confirmed receiving a document from the Commission setting out the EU’s decision to launch the investigation. The company also said it has responded to all previous requests from the Commission for information but has yet to receive any response regarding its responses. Additionally, TikTok said that an offer it had previously made to its internal child protection staff to meet with Commission officials has not yet been accepted.
In its press release, the Commission says the investigation into TikTok’s compliance with DSA obligations in the area of systemic risks will look into “actual or anticipated negative impacts” arising from the design of its systems, including algorithms. The EU says it is concerned that TikTok’s UX “could provoke behavioral addictions and/or create the so-called ‘rabbit hole effect'”.
It further reads, “Such an assessment is needed to counter the potential risks to the exercise of the individual’s fundamental right to physical and mental well-being, respect for the rights of the child, as well as its impact on radicalization processes.”
The Commission is also concerned that the mitigation measures TikTok has put in place to protect children from accessing inappropriate content – namely the age verification tool – “may not be appropriate, proportionate and effective”.
The block will therefore look at whether TikTok is complying with its DSA obligations to take appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure a high level of privacy, security and protection for minors, particularly as part of the design of the default privacy settings for minors. in relation. and the functionality of their recommender systems”.
Elsewhere, the EU investigation will assess whether TikTok is meeting the DSA requirement to provide a “searchable and reliable repository” for ads running on its platform.
TikTok launched an ad library just last summer – Before the regulation’s compliance deadline for large platforms.
Also on transparency, the Commission says its investigation is concerned with “suspicious shortcomings” when it comes to TikTok giving researchers access to publicly accessible data on its platform so they can assess systemic risk in the EU. Study – Such data access is mandated by Article 40. DSA.
Again, TikTok announces expansion of its research API the last summer, But, apparently, the bloc is concerned that none of these measures are enough to meet the platform’s legal requirements to ensure transparency.
Commenting in a statement, Margrethe Vestager, EVP of Digital, said:
The safety and well-being of online users in Europe is important. TikTok needs to take a closer look at the services they offer and carefully consider the risks they pose to their users – both young and old. The Commission will now conduct a thorough investigation without prejudice to the outcome.
In another supporting statement the Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, stressed that: “The protection of minors is the highest enforcement priority for the DSA.”
“As a platform that reaches millions of children and teens, TikTok must fully comply with the DSA and have a special role in protecting minors online,” he said. “We are launching these formal infringement proceedings today to ensure that proportionate action is taken to protect the physical and emotional well-being of young Europeans. We should leave no stone unturned for the safety of our children.”
This is the second such action under the DSA after the block initiated a probe into Elon Musk-owned X (formerly Twitter). December, also citing a series of concerns. That investigation is ongoing.
EU enforcers can also access a broader toolbox once an investigation has been initiated, such as being able to impose interim measures before formal proceedings are concluded.
The EU can also accept commitments given by a platform under investigation if they aim to correct the issues identified.
nearby two dozen platforms DSA’s algorithms are subject to transparency and systemic risk rules. These are defined as platforms with more than 45 million regional monthly active users.
In the case of TikTok, the platform informed the bloc last year that it had 135.9M monthly active users in the EU.
The Commission’s decision to launch a child protection investigation into TikTok means Ireland’s media regulator, which is responsible for monitoring TikTok’s compliance with the rest of the DSA rules, will step down under the decentralized, ‘country of origin’ enforcement structure put in place by the EU. A large number of rules have been prepared to implement. Regulation will not be able to intervene and monitor the platform’s compliance in this area. It will be entirely up to the Commission to assess whether TikTok is “Appropriate and proportionate measures have been taken to ensure a high level of privacy, security and protection of minors”.
In recent years, Ireland’s data protection authority, which oversees TikTok’s compliance with another key piece of EU digital law — aka, the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation — has been in trouble. has faced criticism from some EU MPs For not acting quickly enough on concerns about how the platform processes the data of minors.
[ad_2]
Thanks For Reading