The European Union has launched a formal investigation into the short video platform, TikTok. The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, announced that it has launched official proceedings against the platform owned by China, for possible violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA).

As it became known, the investigators will verify whether the platform protects minors, keeps records of advertising content and whether its algorithms direct users to harmful content.

Thierry Breton, the European Union Commissioner for Internal Markets, stated that the protection of children is one of the top priorities to be implemented for the DSA.

The investigation into the safety of minors on the platform includes checks on the age verification process as well as the pre-selected privacy settings used for children’s accounts.

“As the platform is accessed by millions of children and teenagers, TikTok must be in full compliance with the DSA and has a special role to play in the protection of minors,” stated Breton.

“We are launching this formal proceeding today to ensure that proportionate action is taken to protect the physical and emotional well-being of Europe’s young people. We must spare no effort to protect our children.”

Companies that break DSA rules face potential fines of up to 6% of their global turnover.

TikTok, which does not disclose its revenue, is owned by Chinese technology company ByteDance.

The platform announced that it will continue to work with experts to keep its young users safe and that it looks forward to explaining this issue in detail to the European Commission.

This is the second case that a technology company has been accused of violating the DSA, after Elon Musk’s “X”, which became the subject of an official investigation by Brussels in December last year.

👁️[WPPV-TOTAL-VIEWS]