The European Commission on Friday accused Meta and TikTok of violating their legal obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA) by failing to provide adequate access to public data for researchers.
In its preliminary findings, the Commission said Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok had set up “burdensome procedures” that made it difficult for researchers to obtain data necessary for studying the platforms’ social and health impacts.
“Allowing researchers access to platforms’ data is an essential transparency obligation under the DSA,” the Commission said in a statement. “It provides public scrutiny into the potential impact of platforms on our physical and mental health.”
The Commission also said Meta’s platforms lacked an easy-to-use system for reporting illegal content such as child sexual abuse material or terrorist content. It accused the company of using “deceptive interface designs” that could confuse or discourage users from flagging harmful posts.
Both companies have the opportunity to respond and take corrective measures before the investigation’s final outcome. Violations of the DSA can attract fines of up to 6% of a company’s annual global revenue.
A Meta spokesperson told Reuters that the company disagreed with the Commission’s findings but would continue to engage with regulators. “We have introduced changes to our content reporting options, appeals process, and data access tools since the DSA came into force,” the spokesperson said.
TikTok said it remained committed to transparency but warned that easing data access could conflict with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). “If it is not possible to fully comply with both, we urge regulators to provide clarity on how these obligations should be reconciled,” a company spokesperson said.
