European Union: European Commission announced investigation into TikTok's compliance with Digital Services Act's obligation to grant researchers adequate access to public data

On 19 February 2024, the European Commission launched formal proceedings to assess whether TikTok complies with the Digital Services Act (DSA) obligation to provide authorised researchers with access to the platform’s publicly accessible data. The investigation will examine whether TikTok’s terms, processes, and technical measures allow researchers to independently access and analyse public data in a manner that supports scrutiny of systemic risks, as required under the DSA.