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Title: EU charges Meta and TikTok over failures to tackle illegal content

Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2025 12:15:33 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/eu-charges-...

The European Commission has found that Meta and TikTok had violated rules
under the Digital Services Act (DSA) and is now giving them the chance to
comply if they don't want to be fined up to 6 percent of their total
worldwide annual turnover. According to the Commission, Facebook, Instagram
and TikTok have "put in place burdensome procedures and tools" for
researchers who want to request access to public data. This means they're
stuck with incomplete or unreliable information if they want to do research
on topics like how minors are exposed to illegal or harmful content online.
"Allowing researchers access to platforms' data is an essential transparency
obligation under the DSA," the Commission wrote.

In addition, the Commission is charging Meta over the lack of a user-friendly
mechanism that would allow users to easily report posts with illegal content,
such as child sexual abuse materials. The Commission explained that Facebook
and Instagram use mechanisms that require several steps to be able to flag
posts, and they use dark interface designs that make reporting confusing and
dissuading. All those factors are in breach of DSA rules that require online
platforms to give EU users easy-to-use mechanisms to be able to report
illegal content.

Under the DSA, users must also be able to challenge social networks'
decisions to remove their posts or suspend their accounts. The Commission
found that neither Facebook nor Instagram allow users to explain their sides
or provide evidence to substantiate their appeals, which limits the
effectiveness of the appeal process.

Meta and TikTok will be able to examine the Commission's investigation files
and to reply in writing about its findings. They'll also have the opportunity
to implement changes to comply with DSA rules, and it's only if the
Commission decides they're non-compliant that they can be fined up to 6
percent of their global annual turnover. Meta disagreed that it had breached
DSA rules, according to Financial Times. "In the European Union, we have
introduced changes to our content reporting options, appeals process, and
data access tools since the DSA came into force and are confident that these
solutions match what is required under the law in the EU," it said in a
statement. Meanwhile, TikTok said it was reviewing the Commission's findings
but that "requirements to ease data safeguards place the DSA and GDPR in
direct tension." It's asking regulators for guidance on "how these
obligations should be reconciled."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-
tech/eu-charges-meta-and-tiktok-over-failures-to-tackle-illegal-content-
121533180.html?src=rss

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