TikTok Hollowing EU Ad Rules, Commission Blasts Video App Over Opaque Ads
TikTok Found to Violate Advertising Regulations as Perceived by EU Commission
Think you know who's advertising on TikTok? Think again! The European Commission claims the popular video-sharing platform is flouting EU digital rules via murky ad practices, leaving the door wide open for fines.
The wheels are already in motion, as TikTok trails behind EU digital legislation. Hailing from China, the social media juggernaut fails to offer the necessary meaty details about advertisements, putting them at risk of a hefty fine.
The Lowdown: Holding Advertisers AccountableAccording to the Brussels authority, the Digital Services Act (DSA) enforces strict obligations for disclosing ad details. Why? Because this paves the way for researchers, civil society, and knuckle-draggers like us to sniff out phony advertising, dangerous hybrid campaigns, divisive information operations, and fraudulent ad schemes.
Yea, pretty important stuff for the health of our democracy and wallets. Trouble is, TikTok doesn't play ball. The platform lacks a public ad registry, and its ad archive isn't exactly Google-ready, drastically limiting its utility.
The Heat's On: EU's Warning Shot to TikTok
TikTok has been served with a formal warning, and if they don't shape up, the EU Commission could sock them with a fine equivalent to as much as 6% of their global annual turnover. These findings stem from a probe that digs into TikTok's inner workings (the secrets of the magicians, if you will), testing their tools, and quizzing experts from the field.
This isn't the Commission's first rodeo. Several other platforms are under the EU microscope for DSA noncompliance, including Elon Musk's former crowing poster, Twitter, which has found itself in the crosshairs of EU scrutiny. Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta are going under the knife as well.
[1] Techcrunch.com[2] Reuters.com[3] Theverge.com[4] Nytimes.com[5] BBC.com[6] Cnbc.com
- TikTok
- EU Commission
- Social Media
- China
- EU
- Elon Musk
- Brussels
- X (formerly Twitter)
- The Commission is proposing to extend the deadline for the submission of proposals from social media platforms like TikTok, which hails from China, to the EU Council amid concerns over their opaque advertising practices, especially in relation to the forthcoming Digital Services Act (DSA).
- The EU Commission has been cracking down on various platforms, including TikTok, Twitter (formerly X), Facebook, and Instagram parent company Meta, for noncompliance with the DSA, which enforces strict policies regarding the disclosure of advertising details to promote transparency and prevent fraudulent ad schemes.
- The EU Commission's scrutiny of technology companies from China, such as TikTok, is part of a broader effort to hold social media platforms accountable for their policies and practices relating to policy-and-legislation, entertainment, and general-news, along with politics and social-media, as the DSA aims to maintain a healthy and safe digital environment for users.
