TikTok and Meta, the company which owns Facebook and Instagram, are in breach of transparency obligations under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), the European Commission said Friday.

A statement by the European Union's executive body said its preliminary findings show that the social media giants were "in breach of their obligation to grant researchers adequate access to public data under the DSA."

What did the European Commission say?

The Commission also said Meta was breaching its obligations to provide users with "simple mechanisms" to notify the platforms of illegal content and to allow them to "effectively challenge content moderation discussions."

The DSA is the EU's attempt to make large online platforms free of disinformation, fake news and hate speech as part of the bloc's campaign to create a safer online space and protect users' rights.

Allowing researchers access to the online platforms' data is an essential transparency obligation under the DSA, "as it provides public scrutiny into the potential impact of platforms on our physical and mental health," the Commission said.

"Our democracies depend on trust. That means platforms must empower users, respect their rights, and open their systems to scrutiny," said Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy.

"We are making sure platforms are accountable for their services, as ensured by EU law, towards users and society," Virkkunen added.

What are the next steps?

The three social media platforms will now have the opportunity to assess and reply to the Commission's preliminary findings, and can take action to "remedy the breaches," the Commission said.

If the preliminary findings are confirmed, the EU might issue fines of up to 6% of the total global annual turnover of the platform in question.

Penalty payments could also be imposed to compel the platforms to comply, the Commission said.

In a statement sent to DW, a spokesperson for Meta said the company continues to negotiate with the Commission and "disagrees with any suggestion" that it breached the DSA.

"In the European Union, we have introduced changes to our content reporting options, appeals process, and data access tools since the DSA came into force and are confident that these solutions match what is required under the law in the EU," Meta said.

Edited by: Louis Oelofse