Meta and TikTok Win Legal Battle Against European Surveillance Fees
Meta Platforms and TikTok have secured a ruling in their favor from the European Court of Justice regarding the surveillance fees imposed under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The court in Luxembourg found that the method Brussels used to calculate these contributions was unlawful.
Since 2023, major digital platforms have been required to pay an annual contribution equivalent to 0.05% of their global net income to fund the oversight linked to the DSA. This amount is determined based on the average number of active users and the companies’ financial results. Meta and TikTok criticized this method as “disproportionate,” arguing that it harms certain platforms. The court sided with both companies, giving the European Commission a 12-month deadline to rectify its methodology through appropriate legal means.
However, any amounts already paid for 2023 will not be reimbursed immediately, as the Commission must first establish a new legal basis to justify the calculation method. The court noted that “this methodology should have been adopted in the form of a Commission decision, not through executive acts, in accordance with the rules set out in the DSA.”
The law, which came into effect in November 2022, requires large platforms to enhance their efforts against illegal and harmful content, under the threat of fines that can reach up to 6% of their annual global revenue. In addition to Meta and TikTok, the contribution also includes other giants such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Booking.com, Snapchat, Pinterest, and X (formerly Twitter).
This ruling marks a judicial victory for the platforms, but it does not eliminate their obligation to fund oversight. Nonetheless, it places the European Commission in a challenging position and provides tech giants with some financial relief and an additional argument in their dealings with Brussels.
