European Union Court Says TikTok Owner Can’t Skirt Digital Crackdown
LONDON (NEWSnet/AP) — TikTok owner ByteDance cannot avoid European Union’s crackdown on digital giants, the court said Wednesday.
EU's General Court rejected ByteDance's legal challenge against being classed as an online "gatekeeper” that has to comply with extra obligations under the 27-nation bloc's Digital Markets Act.
The rulebook, also known as DMA, took effect in March and seeks to counter the dominance of Big Tech companies by giving consumers more choice.
TikTok had argued it is not a gatekeeper, but playing the role of a new competitor in social media, competing with entrenched players like Facebook and Instagram owner Meta.
The judges decided that, since 2018, TikTok had “succeeded in increasing its number of users very rapidly and exponentially” and it had “rapidly consolidated its position, and even strengthened that position over the following years.”
In a prepared statement, the company expressed disappointment in the decision.
“TikTok is a challenger platform that provides important competition to incumbent players.”
TikTok said it will evaluate next steps and noted it already has taken measures to comply with DMA.
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