The European Union says TikTok might be breaking the rules for online content. They think TikTok isn't clear enough about the adverts people see on the app.

The EU Commission said that TikTok's ad library doesn't meet the rules of the Digital Services Act (DSA), according to early results of their investigation.

The Commission said that ad databases are very important for researchers. They help them find fake ads and other harmful campaigns, like those with false information, especially during elections.

The DSA is a set of rules that wants to make social media better and keep people safe. It protects users from things like fake news that can affect elections. Social media sites need to be clear about online adverts. They must tell people why they see a certain advert and who paid for it.

The group said TikTok doesn't give enough details about what the ads show, who sees them, and who pays. They said you can't easily search for ads using this information, which "makes the tool less helpful."

TikTok said they are looking at what the Commission found and will continue to follow the rules.

"We agree with what the rules are trying to do, and we are making our adverts more open, but we don't agree with everything the Commission says. We think they are telling us what to do with early ideas, not with clear rules everyone can see," the company said.

Henna Virkkunen said that problems with the advertising database mean they cannot fully check the dangers of how ads are targeted. She is in charge of technology, security, and democracy for the commission.

Virkkunen said that it's very important to be clear about online adverts – who pays for them and who they are trying to reach. This helps to protect everyone. She added that people need to know who is sending the messages they see, so we can keep elections fair, protect people's health, and stop fake adverts.

TikTok can now respond before the Commission makes its final choice. This choice could mean TikTok has to pay a fine of up to 6% of its yearly income from around the world.

TikTok is being checked by the EU to see if it did enough to handle problems during the Romanian presidential election. This election had issues last year because people said there were voting problems and Russia interfered.