Two days into the Digital Services Act, EU wields it to deepen TikTok probe

Two days after its Digital Services Act (DSA) came into effect, the European Union used it to open an investigation into made-in-China social network TikTok. European Commissioner Thierry Breton delivered news of the probe in a Xeet that revealed the investigation will consider "suspected breach of transparency & obligations …

[Headley_Grange]

Penalties of up to 6%

I'll believe those penalties when I see them.

(Spoiler Alert: I'll never see them.)

[Dinanziame]

Re: Penalties of up to 6%

Have you missed the multi-billion dollars fines that have been handed out by the EU to various tech companies? What reason would the EU have to not apply such fines to TikTok?

[Headley_Grange]

Re: Penalties of up to 6%

Not one of them has been fined anything close to 6%. I think the biggest is about $1.2bn for Meta who made $108bn profit that year.

[I am David Jones]

Re: Penalties of up to 6%

Not to mention that that’s profit not turnover.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Penalties of up to 6%

And not to mention that we get to see when the fines are announced and the start of the attritional war of appeals, but we don't ever get to see an announcement when that the 1.2B actually got deposited.

[I ain't Spartacus]

Re: Penalties of up to 6%

Headley_Grange,

Meta have never made $108bn profit. I think their turnover last year was about $130bn.

So you're correct, they weren't fined 6% of turnover, it was only 1%. I'm going to assume that your figure is from an earlier year - and represents turnover not profit (or in US speak revenue not earnings). But fines don't tend to go to the highest amount straight away.

[Pascal Monett]

Wonder what Beijing's instructions will be

Comply just enough to placate the commission, or just pretend to comply, dither and dally, and wait for things to simmer down ?

Because Beijing is not going to retreat on its intent of perverting Europe's youth, now will it ?

[elsergiovolador]

Re: Wonder what Beijing's instructions will be

It's their Opium...

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Wonder what Beijing's instructions will be

Nice conspiracy theory link — but one way or another there is no "simmering down" from EU regulations. Whether they care or they have found a good way to extract billions from global corporations, they have no reason to back down.

[Necrohamster]

Re: Wonder what Beijing's instructions will be

I'll argue that kids who use TikTok are better at spotting disinformation than their parents and grandparents are at spotting disinformation on Facebook and Twitter.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Wonder what Beijing's instructions will be

I'm not sure that instilling Chinese values would actually count as "perverting" youth.

(minion1) "Ha! we tricked the Western youth into watching hours of Jackie Chan movies, and now they have been perverted by righteous Chinese values"

(boss)"YOU DID WHAT!!!!!"

[Disgusted Of Tunbridge Wells]

Re: Wonder what Beijing's instructions will be

China can play by any rules and still subvert.

All it has to do is push a woke agenda in such a way as to be intentionally divisive. Set black against white, gay against straight, man against woman, etc.

Harmful left wing politics are in fashion. If China has any sense, it will use that as its weapon.

[Disgusted Of Tunbridge Wells]

But obviously the threat of an investigation will go away if TikTok starts following Facebook, etc, and starts suppressing information that governments find inconvenient...

[Tubz]

6% penalty will make a nice dent in the EU black hole budget !

[Jimmy2Cows]

There's a budget for black holes? Was CERN lying when they said none were formed by the LHC?

[Tron]

McCarthyite BS.

Governments want free cash from tech corporates to make up for their many economic failings, and to shutdown tech they can't control. They will gradually erode the internet until it resembles Prestel. And no, you won't be routing around it. There is nothing your government cannot take away from you or destroy, and no financial price they (actually, you) won't pay. Look what the Tories did to Sterling at Brexit. 25% off. The BBC may use the euphemistic 'cost of living crisis', but the descent into poverty in the UK was caused by the UK government damaging their own currency in a world where everything is priced in dollars. Judging by how little coverage it gets in the UK media, maybe there is a D Notice on it.

Unless you are actually being bombed by the Russians, your own government are your worst enemy and will damage your lifestyle and finances the most. Not social media, TikTok, Zuckerberg or the CCP.

And as for kids. In America, parents who let their kids get to guns get prosecuted. So how about a law that demands parents check the apps on their kids' phones. A bit of parental responsibility. Social media companies offer load of tools for parental control, but hardly any parents actually use them. That is not the fault of social media companies.

[MrGreen]

Offshore bank accounts are in US dollars. That’s why Rishi and all MP’s, bureaucrats and banks don’t care about the pound.

These laws are just another way for the EU to tax companies outside of Europe.