European Union: Issued European Commission decision following investigation into ByteDance qualification as a gatekeeper under Digital Markets Act based online advertising service TikTok Ads

On 13 May 2024, the European Commission issued its decision not to designate ByteDance as a gatekeeper for its online advertising service, TikTok Ads, under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The decision was made following a review process initiated on 1 March 2024, after ByteDance submitted a self-assessment indicating it met the relevant thresholds to be considered a gatekeeper. The Commission determined that although TikTok Ads satisfies the quantitative thresholds required under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), it does not qualify as an important gateway. Therefore, TikTok Ads will not be designated as such.