EU Commission issues preliminary findings in DSA investigations into TikTok and Meta

On 24 October, the European Commission announced preliminary findings as part of its investigations into Meta and TikTok under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The Commission preliminarily found that each of Meta and TikTok has breached its duties regarding data transparency, and also that Meta has breached its duties in relation to illegal content reporting procedures and content moderation appeals.

Data transparency for researchers

The Commission’s investigations assessed the mechanisms that researchers can use under the DSA rules for requesting access to public data from Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. The Commission’s preliminary findings considered the mechanisms used by Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to be burdensome, and in the Commission’s view this presents a risk of researchers acquiring partial or unreliable data.

Illegal content reporting methods

The DSA requires online platforms to provide user-friendly ‘Notice and Action’ methods to enable users to report illegal content. The Commission’s preliminary findings are that Facebook and Instagram’s Notice and Action methods may require users to perform unnecessary actions, and that both platforms appear to employ ‘dark patterns’ or deceptive interface designs. The Commission preliminarily concluded that these methods could be confusing and dissuading to users.

Moderation appeals

Under the DSA, users in the EU must be given the opportunity to appeal content moderation decisions if a moderator decision results in the removal of their content or deletion of their account. The Commission preliminarily found that Facebook and Instagram do not provide users with an effective way to appeal such decisions, because users cannot submit supporting evidence as part of their appeals. The Commission considered that this may hinder the effectiveness of the moderation appeals process. 

Future outlook

These findings are preliminary and are not a prejudgment on the final outcome of the Commission’s wider investigations. TikTok and Meta now have the opportunity to analyse the documents used in the investigation, reply to the findings, and take measures to address the alleged breaches. In the event that any breaches are ultimately confirmed, the Commission’s enforcement powers include issuing fines of up to 6% of worldwide annual turnover.