On Thursday November 9, Brussels opened an investigation into the measures taken by the social network TikTok and the video-sharing site YouTube to protect minors, in particular their “mental and physical health”.
In a press release, the European Commission said it had asked companies to “provide more information about the measures they have taken to comply with their obligations to protect minors” under the new Digital Services Act (DSA). ). , which came into effect at the end of August. These requests do not constitute a challenge.
This is a first step in a process that can lead to high financial penalties for proven and long-term violations of the regulations. In extreme cases, fines can amount to up to 6% of the global turnover of the groups involved.
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“TikTok and YouTube must provide the Commission with the requested information by November 30 at the latest. Based on the evaluation of the responses, the commission will determine the next steps,” she said.
Investigations against the Chinese website AliExpress
Thursday’s announcement is part of a shift led by European digital commissioner Thierry Breton to force very large platforms to comply with new obligations imposed on them. “Protecting children will be a priority” in implementing the DSA, he warned in August.
Brussels announced back in October three investigations into the social network TikTok (owned by the Chinese group ByteDance), “false information”, images and violent comments following Hamas attacks against Israel.
The European executive has also launched an investigation into Chinese online sales site AliExpress for allegedly selling illegal products, particularly counterfeit medicines. Since the end of August, the DSA has imposed stricter rules on nineteen very large Internet players.
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