Euro's Virtual Knuckles: EU Commission Going Ham on TikTok Over Sneaky Ads
Potential Transparency Issues: EU Commission Scrutinizes TikTok Advertising Practices - EU Commission Scrutinizing TikTok's Transparent Advertising Practices
YouTube's little brother TikTok, the social media sensation owned by the China-based ByteDance, is in hot water with the Old Guard of Brussels. The European Commission has slapped the platform with a preliminary assessment, alleging shady advertising practices that don't jive with EU digital regs. That's right—they're accusing it of being a thinly veiled purveyor of shady ads.
The hornet's nest all started when the Commission fingered TikTok for withholding key ad information, skirting a potential hefty fine. According to the Digital Services Act (DSA), online platforms are supposed to have a kickass ad archive, complete with granular details on ad content, successfully pulling the curtain back on fraudulent ads, foreign interference, misinformation, and more.
But according to the Commission, TikTok is more Grinch than Claus when it comes to transparency. Critics point a finger at its bare-bones ad registry and subpar search functionality, which amounts to a glorified paperweight.
Enter TikTok's resident party pooper, who claims they're on board with the DSA spirit, yet take issue with a few interpretations. As if that wasn't enough, they're taking up residence in the Commission's doghouse, planning to review the preliminary findings on the ad archive and keep the dialogue alive.
If found guilty, the corruption crown could land TikTok a whopping fine equivalent to 6% of its global revenue, as per the Commission's announcement. And that's not a birthday cake they'd want to gorge on.
This poot-storm has been brewing since the Commission's investigation, which involved sifting through company docs, testing platform tools, and grilling experts in the field.
TikTok's Recent Brushes with the Law
Just when you thought it couldn't get nastier, last year, the EU Commission pulled TikTok up for perceived advertising negligence during Romania's presidential elections. They claimed TikTok neglected to label content from the then pro-Russian, far-right candidate as political ads. The elections ultimately got scrapped due to suspected Russian meddling and greenbacks fiascoes.
Not Everything's a Pile of Crap Over on the EU's Turf
It's not all dark and dreary for TikTok. Some other platforms are dealing with their fair share of heat, as well. For instance, Elon Musk's baby X, and Facebook's mama Meta, are both dance partners with EU investigators, thanks to suspected DSA violations.
- TikTok
- EU Commission
- Brussels
- China
- Advertising
Insights
The EU Digital Services Act (DSA) calls upon online platforms to maintain a transparent ad repository with details on who funds ads, target demographics, specific ad content, and ad distribution. This transparency is vital in detecting and preventing nefarious content such as scams, disinformation, and political influence campaigns.
In this case, the EU Commission raises concerns about TikTok's compliance with these requirements due to a lack of transparency, insufficient search functionality, technical barriers, and limited information about recommendation algorithms. The Commission emphasizes the importance of swift enforcement to ensure accountability among large online platforms.
- Despite TikTok's resistance, the EU Commission's preliminary assessment suggests that the social media platform has failed to comply with the advertising transparency requirements outlined in the Digital Services Act (DSA), specifically in relation to its ad archive and search functionality.
- This alleged non-compliance comes amidst allegations that TikTok has withheld key information about its advertising practices, potentially involving shady ads and foreign interference, which are issues of significant concern to the EU Commission. The consequence of this violation could result in a fine equivalent to 6% of TikTok's global revenue.
