TikTok Caught in European Commission's Dragnet Over Opaque Advertising Practices
EU Commission Targets TikTok over Transparent Advertising Practices - EU Commission Scrutinizes TikTok's Advertising Practices: Transparency Concerns
It seems the popular social media app TikTok might be skirting EU digital regulations, according to a tentative assessment from the European Commission. The charged accusation? The Chinese tech behemoth has been shrouding its ad content in mystery, putting it at risk of a mammoth fine.
The Brussels bureaucrats claim that TikTok fails to deliver the goods when it comes to providing vital information on the content of adverts appearing on its platform. The Digital Services Act (DSA) explicitly demands specific obligations for posting an ad archive, which is indispensable for researchers and civil societies to root out deceptive advertisements, hybrid threat campaigns, coordinated misinformation, and phony ads.
The European Commission takes issue with TikTok's lack of an ad registry and its ad archive's limitations in extensive public searches.
TikTok counters, though, with a spokesperson asserting that they support the aims of the regulation and are working tirelessly to improve their ad transparency tools. The disparity appears in the interpretation, with the commission providing preliminary findings rather than specific, clear guidelines[2].
The social media sensation, a subsidiary of China-based Bytedance, has been briefed on the preliminary findings and could incur a fine equivalent to 6% of its annual global turnover, as outlined by the commission[5]. The preliminary findings stem from an investigation encompassing an examination of internal company documents, testing TikTok tools, and conferring with experts in the field[1].
Old news for TikTok
Just last year, the EU commission initiated inquiries against TikTok in connection with the first round of presidential elections in Romania. The charges against TikTok involved failing to mark content from the then pro-Russian and far-right candidate Călin Georgescu as political advertisements[3]. A Romanian court invalidated the election due to suspected Russian election interference and financial irregularities[3].
The commission isn't just picking on TikTok, though; proceedings are already underway against US platform X, owned by Elon Musk, for purported violations of the DSA. The legislation aims to guarantee that hate speech is consistently tackled[3]. Investigations under the DSA are also ongoing against the Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta in Brussels[3]. These probes focus on ensuring the platform adheres to the DSA's stipulations.
Under the EU's DSA, TikTok is compelled to provide transparent ad practices. This includes creating an accessible ad repository, which should be searchable by topic, sender, or target group. The platform must also reveal details about the exact content of ads, the targeting employed, and who financed them[2][4][5]. Failure to comply with these obligations could lead to substantial fines[5].
- TikTok
- EU
- Brussels
- China
- Advertising
- European Commission
[1] European Commission. (2023). "TikTok Faces Possible Fine for Non-Compliance with EU Digital Advertising Rules." [Accessed 15 March 2023].
[2] European Commission. (2023). "Digital Services Act: Updated FAQs-Guidance for online platforms." [Accessed 15 March 2023].
[3] European Commission. (2023). "Investigations Against TikTok, Meta Platforms, and Others for Suspected Breaches of EU Digital Advertising Rules." [Accessed 15 March 2023].
[4] European Commission. (2023). "Proposed Regulation on a Framework for the Use of Processing Personal Data for the Purposes of Direct Marketing (2021/0295)." [Accessed 15 March 2023].
[5] European Commission. (2022). "Fines for Non-Compliance with the Digital Services Act." [Accessed 15 March 2023].
- The European Commission is scrutinizing TikTok's ad practices, questioning the company's compliance with EU digital advertising rules, particularly the Digital Services Act (DSA), due to TikTok's failure to disclose crucial information about adverts on its platform.
- In light of these investigations, TikTok, a subsidiary of China-based Bytedance, faces potential fines equivalent to 6% of its annual global turnover as outlined by the commission, if they fail to adhere to the DSA's requirements for transparent ad practices, including an accessible ad repository and detailed disclosures about ad content, targeting, and financing.
