European Union regulators have levied accusations against TikTok, alleging breaches of digital content regulations due to insufficient transparency concerning advertisements displayed to users of the video-sharing application.

The European Commission's preliminary investigation has determined that TikTok's advertising archive falls short of the standards mandated by the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU's executive body announced.

The Commission asserted that advertising databases are indispensable for researchers to identify fraudulent advertisements and hybrid threat campaigns, encompassing coordinated information operations and deceptive ads, particularly concerning elections.

Encompassing a broad spectrum of stipulations, the Digital Services Act (DSA) seeks to sanitise social media environments and safeguard users from multifaceted threats, notably election-related disinformation, mandating transparency concerning digital advertising, compelling platforms to elucidate to users the rationale behind specific ad targeting and disclose ad sponsors.

The Commission asserted that TikTok fails to furnish requisite details regarding advertisement content, target demographics, and sponsor identification. They added that the database's inability to facilitate comprehensive, information-driven ad searches consequently curtails the tool's practical utility.

TikTok stated that they are scrutinising the Commission's conclusions and are still dedicated to fulfilling their obligations under the DSA.

"Although we endorse the regulation's objectives and are committed to enhancing our ad transparency resources, we take issue with certain interpretations put forth by the Commission, observing that guidance is being disseminated through preliminary assessments instead of explicit, publicly available directives," the company asserted in a statement.

Henna Virkkunen, the commission's executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security, and democracy, asserted that deficiencies within the advertising database preclude a thorough evaluation of the potential hazards stemming from its ad targeting mechanisms.

Virkkunen asserted that transparency in online advertising, encompassing financial sponsors and audience targeting methodologies, is paramount for safeguarding the public interest. She elaborated that citizens are entitled to know the provenance of online messaging, be it for upholding the integrity of democratic elections, safeguarding public health, or shielding consumers from fraudulent advertisements.

TikTok now has the opportunity to present its rebuttal before the Commission renders its definitive judgment, potentially incurring a penalty of up to 6% of its annual worldwide turnover.

Separately, the EU is examining TikTok regarding potential inadequacies in addressing threats to Romania's presidential election, an event destabilized last year by claims of electoral irregularities and alleged Russian interference.