09:16 AM EDT, 10/24/2025 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with TikTok's response in the last paragraph)

Meta Platforms ( META ) and ByteDance's TikTok have been found to be preliminarily in breach of their obligation to provide users with simple mechanisms to report illegal content, the European Commission said.

The Commission said Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok "may have put in place burdensome procedures and tools for researchers to request access to public data. This often leaves them with partial or unreliable data," hurting their ability to probe instances of illegal or harmful content.

The EU Digital Services Act requires social media platforms to take measures to combat the spread of harmful content, such as child sexual abuse material and terrorist content.

A Meta Platforms ( META ) spokesperson told MT Newswires in an email that "we disagree with any suggestion that we have breached the DSA, and we continue to negotiate with the European Commission on these matters. In the European Union, we have introduced changes to our content reporting options, appeals process, and data access tools since the DSA came into force and are confident that these solutions match what is required under the law in the EU."

Both companies can respond to the preliminary findings before the Commission decides on penalties. If confirmed, Meta and ByteDance could face fines of up to 6% of their total worldwide annual turnover, the Commission said.

"We are reviewing the European Commission's findings, but requirements to ease data safeguards place the DSA and GDPR in direct tension. If it is not possible to fully comply with both, we urge regulators to provide clarity on how these obligations should be reconciled," a spokesperson for TikTok told MT Newswires.