EU Issues Warning to Meta and TikTok for Transparency Violations

The European Commission has found that Meta and TikTok are blocking researchers from accessing public data they're legally required to share. The Commission also says Meta's Facebook and Instagram platforms don't give users clear ways to report illegal content, violating Europe's Digital Services Act.

Europe's Digital Services Act forces big tech platforms to take strong action against illegal and harmful content. But the Commission's initial findings show these companies are making it unnecessarily hard for researchers to do their job.

"The initial results show that Facebook, Instagram and TikTok may have put complex procedures and tools in place that hinder researchers from requesting access to public data," the Commission said in a statement.

Here's why this matters: researchers need access to platform data to study how social media affects people's physical and mental health. The Digital Services Act requires companies to provide this access as a basic transparency measure.

The Commission says Meta's platforms also lack clear, easy-to-use systems for users to report illegal content. This creates another barrier to keeping harmful material off these platforms.

For investors and tech companies, this signals Europe will keep pushing hard on platform accountability. The Digital Services Act gives regulators real teeth to force compliance, and these preliminary findings suggest the Commission won't accept half-measures from big tech firms.

The investigation continues, but these early results show Europe's regulators are serious about making platforms more transparent and accountable to both researchers and users.