Coimisiún na Meán’s investigations team will assess whether the two platforms have contravened Articles 16(1), 16(2)(c) and Article 25 of the EU Digital Services Act (DSA).

The decision to launch formal investigations follows a review in September 2024 of online providers’ compliance with Article 16 of the DSA, which concerns mechanisms for reporting suspected illegal content.

The review brought to light concerns about potential “dark patterns”, or deceptive interface designs, which could confuse or deceive people into believing that they were reporting content as illegal content when they were actually reporting content as violating the provider’s terms and conditions.

John Evans, digital services commissioner at Coimisiún na Meán, said: “The Digital Services Act has marked a step change for online safety in Ireland, and across the EU, providing people who use online providers with greater rights, and placing new obligations on providers to keep people safe online. 

“At the core of the DSA is the right of people to report content that they suspect to be illegal, and the requirement on providers to have reporting mechanisms, that are easy to access and user-friendly, to report content considered to be illegal. 

“Providers are also obliged to not design, organise or operate their interfaces in a way which could deceive or manipulate people, or which materially distorts or impairs the ability of people to make informed decisions.”

He continued: “In the case of these platforms, there is reason to suspect that their illegal content reporting mechanisms are not easy to access or user-friendly, do not allow people to report child sexual abuse material anonymously, as required by the DSA, and that the design of their interfaces may deter people from reporting content as illegal.”

A number of other online platforms have made changes to their reporting mechanisms for illegal content following engagement with Coimisiún na Meán, which is now assessing these changes for their effectiveness.

“We have requested further information from several other providers to assess their compliance with Article 16 and Article 25 of the DSA, and at this point, we are not ruling out further regulatory action, if needed, to ensure compliance with the DSA,” Mr Evans said.

Coimisiún na Meán, as Ireland’s digital services coordinator, is responsible for the application of the DSA, and for supervising providers established in Ireland for their compliance with the DSA.

It also supervises compliance with the Online Safety Code and the EU Terrorist Content Online Regulation under its Online Safety Framework.

The investigations into TikTok and LinkedIn will be conducted pursuant to Part 8B of the Broadcasting Act 2009, as amended.

Where a provider is found in violation of the DSA, Coimisiún na Meán can apply an administrative financial sanction, including a fine of up to six per cent of turnover.

During an investigation concerning a possible breach of the DSA, Coimisiún na Meán and the provider can enter into a binding commitment agreement, in which the provider agrees to take measures that appear to An Coimisiún to address any issue relating to compliance by the provider.