The European Union said TikTok is breaking the rules for online content. They say TikTok is not 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), based on their early investigation.

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

The DSA is a set of rules that wants to make social media safer and protect people from things like fake news that can affect elections. Social media sites need to be clear about online adverts, telling people why they see a certain advert and who paid for it.

The Commission said TikTok doesn't give enough information about what the ads show, who sees them, and who pays for them. 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 do what they need to do to follow the rules.

"We agree with what the rules are trying to do, and we're making our ad tools better. But we don't agree with everything the Commission says. Also, they are giving us advice based on early results, not clear instructions for everyone to see," the company said.

Henna Virkkunen said that problems with the advertising database mean they can't fully check the risks of how the system targets people with ads. She is in charge of technology, security, and democracy for the commission.

Virkkunen said it's important to be clear about online adverts – who pays for them and who they are trying to reach. This helps protect everyone. She said people should know who is showing them adverts, especially when it comes to things like fair elections, health information, or avoiding fake adverts.

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

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