Irish Regulators Investigate TikTok And LinkedIn Over Illegal Content Reporting Mechanism

Illustration of Coimisigen officials

JAKARTA Coimisimen na Me fire (Cnam), the Irish authorities who oversee the compliance of digital platforms with the European Union Digital Services Act (DSA), opened an official investigation into TikTok and LinkedIn regarding alleged weakness in the reporting mechanism of illegal content, including material on alleged sexual abuse of children.

Regulators highlight whether the two platforms allow users to anonymously report allegations of illegal content as required by the DSA. Cnam also checks whether the reporting feature is accessible, user-friendly, or even potentially misleading, it is called dark patterns that can obscure the reporting process of illegal content.

John Evans, the digital service commissioner, said the DSA core was a right for people to report content they suspected was illegal' and the platform's obligation to provide a clear reporting mechanism and not manipulate users.

If found to have violated, TikTok and LinkedIn could face administrative sanctions of up to 6 percent of global revenues that could penetrate billions of euros. Regulators also opened a binding commitment option, in which the company agreed to correct the shortcomings found.

TikTok, which ByteDance owns, said it would review the notification of the investigation and cooperate with regulators. LinkedIn, Microsoft's unit, said its platform has provided an illegal content reporting mechanism and will continue to comply with the rules in the jurisdiction where they operate.

Ireland plays the main supervisor of many tech giants operating in Europe because their regional headquarters is in Dublin. Cnam's role in online safety is outside the scope of the Data Protection Commission (DPC), which in May previously imposed a fine of 530 million euros on TikTok over user data transfer to China. The decision is currently still in the appeal process.

The investigation into TikTok and LinkedIn follows a regulatory study last year regarding platform compliance with the obligation to provide an effective illegal reporting mechanism. Cnam stated that preliminary findings raised concerns that specific interface designs could mislead users, thereby weakening the effectiveness of user reporting and rights under DSA.

Evans insists that digital platforms should not design or operate interfaces that deceive or manipulate people, or that hinder their ability to make informed decisions.