Irish media regulator begins investigations into TikTok, LinkedIn

Ireland's media regulator has begun investigations into TikTok and LinkedIn over concerns that their illegal content reporting mechanisms are not easy to access or do not allow people to report child sexual abuse material anonymously. The probes were opened by the regulator in its new role supervising the compliance of platforms established in Ireland with the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA). They will assess suspected contravention of parts of the law.

The Coimisiún na Meán announced that it is examining whether the platforms’ mechanisms for reporting illegal content meet required standards under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA).

The investigations will assess if the platforms’ reporting systems are easily accessible and user-friendly, whether they allow anonymous reporting of suspected child sexual abuse material, and if their interface designs might deceive users about how to report illegal content.

"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," said John Evans, Digital Services Commissioner at Coimisiún na Meán.

The regulator began reviewing online providers’ compliance with Article 16 of the DSA in September 2024. The review raised concerns about potential "dark patterns" - deceptive interface designs that might confuse users into thinking they were reporting content as illegal when they were actually reporting violations of the platform’s terms and conditions.