European Union regulators have formally accused TikTok of contravening digital content regulations, citing insufficient transparency regarding the advertisements displayed to its user base.

Preliminary findings from the European Commission's investigation indicate that TikTok's advertising repository fails to meet the standards stipulated by the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU's executive body has asserted.

The Commission asserted that advertising databases are indispensable for researchers to identify fraudulent advertisements and hybrid threat campaigns, encompassing coordinated disinformation efforts and counterfeit ads, particularly concerning electoral processes.

Encompassing a broad spectrum of stipulations, the Digital Services Act (DSA) seeks to sanitise social media platforms and safeguard users from potential hazards, notably disinformation campaigns that could undermine electoral processes, mandating transparency in digital advertising, including the provision of clear explanations regarding ad targeting criteria and advertiser identification.

The Commission asserted that TikTok fails to furnish requisite details pertaining to advertisement content, target demographics, and sponsor identification; furthermore, it stated that the database's inability to facilitate comprehensive ad searches based on these parameters "significantly curtails the tool's efficacy."

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

"Although we remain committed to the objectives of the regulation and are constantly refining our ad transparency mechanisms, we take issue with certain interpretations put forth by the Commission, and further observe that guidance is being disseminated through preliminary assessments rather than 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 in the advertising database preclude a comprehensive evaluation of the potential hazards stemming from its ad targeting mechanisms.

Virkkunen asserted that the unimpeded visibility of online advertising, encompassing its financial backers and audience targeting strategies, remains paramount in protecting the public interest. She elaborated that irrespective of whether the objective is to uphold the sanctity of democratic elections, safeguard public health, or shield consumers from fraudulent advertisements, citizens are inherently entitled to information regarding the originators of the messages they encounter.

TikTok now has the opportunity to respond before the Commission renders its final verdict, which could entail a penalty of up to 6% of the company's annual global turnover.

Separately, the EU is rigorously investigating TikTok's potential negligence in mitigating risks related to Romania's presidential election, which was significantly destabilized last year by claims of electoral irregularities and Russian interference.