The European Commission (EC) has stated that in its preliminary findings, social media platform TikTok was found to have breached the Digital Services Act (DSA).
According to the EC, TikTok has not fulfilled the DSA’s obligation to publish an advertisement repository.
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The investigation into TikTok was launched on 19 February 2024.
European Commission tech sovereignty, security and democracy executive vice-president Henna Virkkunen said: “Transparency in online advertising — who pays and how audiences are targeted — is essential to safeguarding the public interest. Whether we are defending the integrity of our democratic elections, protecting public health, or protecting consumers from scam ads, citizens have a right to know who is behind the messages they see.
“In our preliminary view, TikTok is not complying with the DSA in key areas of its advertisement repository, preventing the full inspection of the risks brought about by its advertising and targeting systems.”
The Commission highlighted that such a repository is “critical” for researchers and civil society to identify scam advertisements, hybrid threats, coordinated information operations, and fake ads, particularly surrounding elections.
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By GlobalDataTikTok’s current repository lacks details on the content of ads, targeted users, and those who financed the advertisements, EU stated.
Additionally, the commission found that TikTok’s repository does not allow the public to conduct comprehensive searches using this information, in turn restricting its functionality.
These preliminary findings follow an in-depth investigation involving the analysis of internal company documents, testing of TikTok’s tools, and expert interviews.
In a press statement, EU said: “TikTok now has the possibility to exercise its rights of defence by examining the documents in the Commission’s investigation file and by replying in writing to the Commission’s preliminary findings.”
If the findings are finally confirmed, the Commission could issue a non-compliance decision. This may result in a fine of up to 6% of TikTok’s global annual turnover and an enhanced supervision period to ensure the platform addresses the breach.
The Commission may also impose periodic penalty payments to enforce compliance.
In addition to advertising transparency, the probe is examining the effects of TikTok’s algorithmic design, including behavioural addiction and the so-called “rabbit hole effects,” as well as aspects such as age verification, privacy and safety for minors, and access to data for researchers.
Earlier In May 2025, TikTok faced €530m ($598.8m) fine by the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) of Ireland for violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in relation to the transfer of user data from the European Economic Area (EEA) to China.
