EU industry chief Thierry Breton has called out TikTok for the spread of disinformation on its platform following the Hamas attack on Israel. In a letter to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Breton gave the company 24 hours to remove illegal and harmful content from its platform to comply with the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA, which came into force in November 2021, requires large online platforms and search engines to take more action against illegal content and protect against manipulative techniques. Breton’s letter follows similar reprimands to Twitter owner Elon Musk and Meta Platforms’ Mark Zuckerberg. Breton stated that TikTok has a particular obligation to protect children and teenagers from violent and graphic content. The EU industry commissioner emphasized that the rules on content moderation are clear in the DSA and outlined specific obligations for TikTok. The breach of DSA rules can result in fines of up to 6% of a company’s global turnover.
