TikTok Faces EU Digital Antitrust Law Test
Jayson 06 Mar 2024 10:54
With the rapid development of digital technology, the influence of large technology companies is growing, which has also attracted the attention of global regulators.
According to news on March 3, the European Union is considering expanding its digital antitrust regulations and including well-known entities such as TikTok owner ByteDance, X and travel website group Booking.
It is reported that large technology companies must comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) in early March. The bill aims to promote fair competition among technology giants, classifying some large online companies and their services as "gatekeepers."
Companies identified as "gatekeepers", including Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft, will have to meet a series of strict requirements to reduce the occurrence of anti-competitive behavior.
Under the Digital Markets Act, these companies are not allowed to favor their own products and services through their platforms, nor are they allowed to use data collected from rivals to compete with them. Furthermore, they are not allowed to share users' personal data between different platforms without explicit consent.
Now, X, Booking's hotel booking platform, and TikTok's online advertising services may all be restricted by these regulations.
Although TikTok challenged its designation as a "gatekeeper" at the EU Court of Justice, it is still considered an important social network under the rules.
In this regard, TikTok spokesman Elliott Burton said that although TikTok's advertising services have reached a certain quantitative threshold, they are opposed to labeling them as core platform services. Burton emphasized that TikTok is more of a "challenger platform" than the established large technology companies that dominate the online advertising field.
Burton also solemnly stated TikTok's position to the European Commission, "We firmly believe that TikTok should not be designated as a gatekeeper in the online advertising field, because this field is clearly dominated by existing players."
Overall, the EU's regulatory upgrades on the digital market will undoubtedly bring greater compliance challenges to technology companies such as TikTok.
According to news on March 3, the European Union is considering expanding its digital antitrust regulations and including well-known entities such as TikTok owner ByteDance, X and travel website group Booking.
It is reported that large technology companies must comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) in early March. The bill aims to promote fair competition among technology giants, classifying some large online companies and their services as "gatekeepers."
Companies identified as "gatekeepers", including Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft, will have to meet a series of strict requirements to reduce the occurrence of anti-competitive behavior.
Under the Digital Markets Act, these companies are not allowed to favor their own products and services through their platforms, nor are they allowed to use data collected from rivals to compete with them. Furthermore, they are not allowed to share users' personal data between different platforms without explicit consent.
Now, X, Booking's hotel booking platform, and TikTok's online advertising services may all be restricted by these regulations.
Although TikTok challenged its designation as a "gatekeeper" at the EU Court of Justice, it is still considered an important social network under the rules.
In this regard, TikTok spokesman Elliott Burton said that although TikTok's advertising services have reached a certain quantitative threshold, they are opposed to labeling them as core platform services. Burton emphasized that TikTok is more of a "challenger platform" than the established large technology companies that dominate the online advertising field.
Burton also solemnly stated TikTok's position to the European Commission, "We firmly believe that TikTok should not be designated as a gatekeeper in the online advertising field, because this field is clearly dominated by existing players."
Overall, the EU's regulatory upgrades on the digital market will undoubtedly bring greater compliance challenges to technology companies such as TikTok.
