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The EU has moved closer to fining TikTok, after it provisionally concluded that the social media platform had breached its rules for failing to provide an ad library that allows proper scrutiny of online advertising.
The announcement on Thursday comes more than a year after the European Commission launched an in-depth investigation into the group. If the provisional conclusions are confirmed, the Chinese-owned social media platform could be fined up to 6 per cent of its global turnover.
The EU’s Digital Services Act, which came into force last year, requires large online platforms to maintain a publicly searchable ad library to help detect scams, disinformation campaigns and co-ordinated manipulation — especially ahead of elections.
“Transparency in online advertising — who pays and how audiences are targeted — is essential to safeguarding the public interest,” said the commission’s tech chief Henna Virkkunen.
TikTok said it remained committed to meeting its obligations under the DSA.
“While we support the goals of the regulation and continue to improve our ad transparency tools, we disagree with some of the commission’s interpretations,” TikTok said.
It added that the EU’s guidance was being delivered through preliminary findings rather than clear, public guidelines. “A level playing field and consistent enforcement are essential,” TikTok said.
The ad transparency investigation is one of several ongoing European cases against TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is based in Beijing. One of the probes into TikTok is looking into potential interference in Romania’s 2024 elections.
This month, TikTok was handed a €530mn fine by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission for sending users’ data to China, in a ruling the social media group said would have negative ramifications for “any company in Europe with global operations”. It plans to appeal against the decision.
The penalty is the third highest issued by the Irish DPC, which has previously fined Facebook’s owner Meta €1.2bn and Amazon €746mn. It also fined TikTok €345mn in 2023 over the way it processed the personal data of children and teens.
TikTok is also under fire in the US, where Congress last year passed legislation requiring ByteDance to divest the app or face a nationwide ban.
