The European Commission found Meta and TikTok in violation of provisions in the Digital Services Act ( DSA ) and gave both the opportunity to comply with the rules or face fines of up to 6 percent of their total annual global revenue.
Engadget reported on Friday that the European Commission assessed that Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok had implemented burdensome procedures for researchers who wanted to access public data from their platforms.
This situation makes it difficult for researchers to obtain complete and reliable information to conduct research on topics such as children's exposure to illegal or harmful content online.
"Providing researchers with access to data is an essential transparency obligation under the DSA," the European Commission said in a statement.
In addition, the European Commission accused Meta of not providing a user-friendly reporting mechanism for flagging illegal content, including material about child sexual abuse.
According to the investigation, the reporting features on Facebook and Instagram require several complicated steps and use a dark interface that has the potential to confuse and deter users from reporting.
These are considered to be in violation of the DSA, which requires digital platforms to provide simple and easily accessible reporting mechanisms for users in the European Union.
The European Commission also found that Facebook and Instagram had not provided users with an opportunity to effectively appeal decisions to remove content or suspend accounts.
Both platforms were deemed to not provide space for users to explain their positions or include supporting evidence in the appeals process, thus limiting the effectiveness of the objections mechanism.
