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Published on
October 24, 2025
5 min read
TikTok, Meta Breached Transparency Rules, the EU Says
In Focus
- EU says Meta and TikTok breached transparency rules
- The social media firms failed to allow researchers adequate access to public data
- Both Meta and TikTok have denied the findings
Meta and TikTok breached transparency rules according to the EU’s preliminary findings. CNBC reported that TikTok and Meta breached the EU transparency rules after failing to give researchers sufficient access to public data as provided by the Digital Services Act (DSA).
EU Supports for Data Access for Research
The EU insists that researchers access data on social media platforms to facilitate public scrutiny on the potential health impacts of the technology. The European Commission said Meta breached the law for not informing social media users of illegal content.
“The Commission also preliminarily found Meta, for both Instagram and Facebook, in breach of its obligations to provide users simple mechanisms to notify illegal content, as well as to allow them to effectively challenge content moderation decisions,” the statement from the commission read in part.
The DSA is among the EU transparency rules passed to keep major tech companies in check. The EU fines tech fines up to 6% of turnover for DSA non-compliance. The EU has targeted tech giants with multiple investigations under the Digital Markets Acts (DMA). Earlier this year. Meta criticized EU’s stringent AI regulations saying they are slowing down growth of the AI industry.
Meta and TikTok’s Response to EU’s Findings
Responding to the EU’s preliminary findings on transparency breach, Meta and TikTok denied any wrongdoing, highlighting the major changes made to the content reporting process.
“We disagree with any suggestion that we have breached the DSA. We have introduced changes to our content reporting options, appeals process, and data access tools since the DSA came into force,” Meta spokesperson Ben Walters said.
TikTok emphasized its commitment to data transparency and stated its appreciation of the contribution that researchers make to the social media industry.
“We have made substantial investments in data sharing and almost 1000 research teams have been given access to data through our Research Tools to date,” Tiktok spokesperson said.
TikTok, Meta EU Transparency Breach at a Glance
- EU insists on data access for researchers
- Findings show Meta failed to provide simple ways to notify users of illegal content
- The EU Commission could issue an non-compliance decision
Possible Action by the EU
The EU can use the Digital Services Act to push large online platforms into compliance. If the findings are upheld, the Commission could issue a non-compliance decision that carries a fine to the two social media firms.
Meta faces a $228.4 million fine under the DMA law while TikTok has been fined $600 million for transferring user data to China. The EU said that according to preliminary findings, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok may have established procedures and developed tools for researchers to request public data access.
These efforts often leave researchers with unreliable data, which affects their ability to explore varying research topics like whether users are exposed to harmful or illegal content. Meta and TikTok won the EU tech fees challenge last month.
