The European Union (EU) will start investigating ByteDance's TikTok for allegedly breaching online content rules involving the protection of minors who use the platform.
The Commission announced that the probe will be under the Digital Services Act, allowing the regulators to fine big tech companies as much as 6% of their annual sales or ban them from the EU.
Read Also: Apple to Face $500 Million Fine in EU Under Antitrust Law
TikTok Fails to Protect Minors, EU Says
EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton shared on X that the Commission has decided to open an investigation regarding TikTok's "suspected breach of transparency and obligations to protect minors."
According to Breton, they will investigate the addictive design, screen time limits, rabbit hole effect, age verification system, and default privacy settings of the platform.
Previously, EU regulators initiated their first probe under the DSA against Elon Musk's X. The investigation was prompted based on the possible breaches for the platform's handling of illegal content and disinformation.
The bloc also identified 19 online platforms and search engines last year as entities that are worth investigating. The regulations have been questioning Meta, Alphabet, and more, since then for information.
TikTok Promises to Cooperate With the Commission
A TikTok spokesperson shared that the company is willing to "work with experts and industry to keep young people on TikTok safe, and look forward to now having the opportunity to explain this work in detail."
In addition, TikTok claimed that it has pioneered features and settings that are designed to protect teens and keep children under the age of 13 off the platform.
Meanwhile, reports showed that the Commission will also look into TikTok's reliability to provide a database n the advertisements on its platforms. This will help the researchers scrutinize the potential online risk of its system, especially to minors.
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