Ireland probes TikTok, LinkedIn over inadequate illegal content reporting

The Irish flag flouts in the wind as it flies at half-mast over the General Post Office on O'Connell street, Dublin, Ireland, March, 27, 2016. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland has launched a probe into whether social media platforms TikTok and LinkedIn violated European Union rules on reporting illegal online content, Dublin’s digital regulator said on Tuesday.

“There is reason to suspect that their illegal content reporting mechanisms are not easy to access or user-friendly, do not allow people to report child sexual abuse material anonymously... and that the design of their interfaces may deter people from reporting content as illegal,” said Digital Services Commissioner John Evans.

Those issues represented a failure to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a landmark online content law imposed in December 2023, he added.

Under the DSA, which tightened the rules for big tech platforms operating within the EU, both companies could in theory face fines of up to six per cent of their global annual revenues.

While the European Commission is responsible for most regulation under the DSA, national watchdogs bear some responsibility for platforms based in their jurisdictions.

Both LinkedIn and TikTok are based in Ireland, which had already opened a probe into Elon Musk’s X on Nov. 12 over the platform’s moderation practices.

A TikTok spokesperson confirmed that they were aware of the investigation.

“We are committed to keeping our platform safe and meeting our obligations under the DSA,” the spokesperson said, adding that the company “will review it in full and engage with (the regulator) as required”.