Social media giants Meta and TikTok are suing the European Union over a levy that bankrolls the enforcement of Europe’s content moderation law, the Digital Services Act.
Meta alone said it is required to pay €11 million for 2024. TikTok declined to say how much it is paying. The EU’s decision that shows the costs per company is not public.
Under the content moderation law, very large online platforms and search engines have to split the costs of enforcement based on user numbers, paying a maximum contribution of 0.05 percent of their yearly profit each year to the Commission.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Social media giants Meta and TikTok are suing the European Union over a levy that bankrolls the enforcement of Europe’s content moderation law, the Digital Services Act.
The European Union executive has said it needs around €45 million in 2024 to police how major platforms like Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, TikTok and YouTube crack down on illegal and harmful content.
The lawsuits comes as the Commission faces high expectations to force large social media and websites to abide by the Digital Services Act’s obligations to stamp out toxic and violent content and better protect children online.
But companies that only record very small or no net income — like Elon Musk’s X, Amazon, Snapchat, Pinterest and Wikipedia in 2022 — could escape a large levy, while Meta and Google are estimated to foot much of the bill.
Last year Amazon and fashion retailer Zalando also lodged separate legal challenges to the Digital Services Act, seeking to avoid extra obligations like turning off personalized algorithms.
The Commission is currently investigating X for potentially failing to tackle illegal violent content and disinformation, particularly following the start of the Hamas-Israel war last year.
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