On Thursday, the European Union declared that it would be looking into YouTube and TikTok to see what steps the US and Chinese-owned companies are taking to protect the children who use them.
The European Commission announced that it had started requesting formal information from TikTok and YouTube, respectively, per the new EU law on digital content.
The executive branch of the European Union stated that it was interested in the steps that the video-sharing platforms had taken to adhere to the Digital Services Act (DSA), particularly about the dangers that the DSA posed to minors' mental and physical health.
The DSA requires digital behemoths to do more to stop the spread of harmful and illegal content and misinformation. It is one of the EU's many weapons to hold big tech accountable.
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Platforms may be fined up to 6% of their global turnover for infractions.
Younger users especially love TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, while YouTube is a part of the Alphabet digital empire, including Google.
Both businesses have until November 30 to reply.
"Child protection will be an enforcement priority" for the DSA, according to remarks made in August by Thierry Breton, the top tech enforcer for the EU.
Additionally, targeted advertising to minors under 17 is prohibited by law.
In response to the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel, the EU has already opened investigations into TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook parent company Meta for spreading false information.
In meetings with EU representatives earlier this week in Brussels, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew had discussions that the company's spokesperson hailed as "positive" on Thursday.
"We're pleased that our efforts to keep people on TikTok safe, engage with these critical topics and comply with the DSA have not gone unnoticed.
"We will continue to work closely with the Commission, including on this latest request," the spokesperson said in a statement.
