The European Union's regulatory body levied accusations against TikTok on Thursday, alleging infringements of digital content regulations stemming from the video-sharing application's inadequate transparency regarding the advertisements displayed to its users.

In their preliminary investigative report, the European Commission stated that TikTok's ad repository fell short of the standards mandated by the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The committee asserted that advertising databases are of paramount importance for researchers seeking to identify fraudulent advertisements, so-called hybrid threat campaigns, coordinated disinformation operations, and deceptive advertising, particularly within the context of elections.

The Digital Services Act is a sweeping piece of legislation designed to overhaul social media platforms and safeguard users from a spectrum of risks, encompassing election-related disinformation. Platforms are obligated to maintain transparency concerning digital advertising, which entails informing users about the rationale behind their exposure to specific ads and the identity of the individuals or entities funding them.

The committee asserted that TikTok's failure to furnish requisite details pertaining to advertisement content, target demographics, and the principals funding said advertisements, coupled with the inability to comprehensively interrogate its advertising repository based on these parameters, compromises the utility of the aforementioned tool.

TikTok has stated that they are reviewing the preliminary findings of the board and reiterated their commitment to fulfilling their obligations under the DSA.

In its statement, the company asserted: "While we are supportive of the regulation's objectives and are continually enhancing our advertising transparency mechanisms, we take issue with certain interpretations put forth by the committee, and further note that the current guidance is presented as preliminary findings rather than definitive, publicly accessible directives."

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President responsible for technology sovereignty, security and democracy, stated that the inadequacies of the advertising database complicated a "thorough review" of the risks posed by its ad targeting system.

Virkkunen强调：“在线广告的透明性，具体而言，知悉广告出资方以及广告定向受众的方式，对于保障公共福祉至关重要。无论其目的在于捍卫民主选举的公正性、维护公众健康，亦或是避免消费者遭受虚假广告的欺骗，公民皆有权了解资讯传播背后的操盘者。”

TikTok now has the opportunity to respond before the committee reaches a final determination, which could potentially result in a fine of up to 6% of the company's global annual revenue.

Furthermore, TikTok is contending with a separate EU inquiry focused on ascertaining whether it adequately mitigated the risks stemming from alleged electoral irregularities and suspected Russian interference during last year's Romanian presidential election.