These procedures initiated by the European Commission follow new EU legislation on digital services. The aim is to verify the effectiveness of the measures taken to protect minor users and in particular their “physical and mental health”.
Brussels opened an investigation on Thursday into the measures implemented by the social network TikTok and the video sharing site YouTube to protect minors, in particular their “mental and physical health”. The European Commission announced in a press release that it had asked companies “to provide more information on the measures they have taken to comply with their obligations regarding the protection of minors” under the new EU legislation. EU on Digital Services (DSA) entered into force at the end of August.
A first step
These requests do not currently constitute a challenge. But it is a first step in procedures which can lead to heavy financial sanctions in the event of proven and prolonged infringements of the regulations. In extreme cases, fines can reach 6% of the global turnover of the groups involved. “TikTok and YouTube must provide the requested information to the Commission no later than November 30, 2023. Based on the evaluation of the responses, the Commission will determine the next steps,” she said.
Thursday’s announcement is part of a tightening led by the European Digital Commissioner, Thierry Breton, to force very large platforms to respect the new obligations imposed on them. “The protection of children will be a priority” in the implementation of the DSA, he warned in August.
Three open investigations
Brussels already announced in October three investigations targeting the social networks TikTok (owned by the Chinese group ByteDance), “false information”, violent images and comments, after Hamas attacks against Israel.
The European executive has also opened an investigation targeting the Chinese online sales site AliExpress concerning the alleged distribution of illegal products, in particular fake medicines. Since the end of August, the DSA has imposed stricter rules on 19 very large internet players.