European Union court says TikTok owner can't avoid bloc's law cracking down on digital giants

LONDON (AP) — TikTok owner ByteDance can't avoid the bloc's crackdown on digital giants, a European Union court said Wednesday in a decision that found the video sharing platform falls under a new law that also covers Apple, Google and Microsoft.

The EU's General Court rejected ByteDance's legal challenge against being classed as an online "gatekeeper” that has to comply with extra obligations under the 27-nation bloc's Digital Markets Act.

The rulebook, also known as the DMA, took effect this year and seeks to counter the dominance of Big Tech companies and make online competition fairer by giving consumers more choice.

TikTok had argued that it wasn't a gatekeeper but was playing the role of a new competitor in social media taking on entrenched players like Facebook and Instagram owner Meta.

The judges, however, decided that since 2018 TikTok had “succeeded in increasing its number of users very rapidly and exponentially” and that it had “rapidly consolidated its position, and even strengthened that position over the following years.”

“We are disappointed with this decision," the company said in a prepared statement. “TikTok is a challenger platform that provides important competition to incumbent players.” TikTok said it will evaluate its next steps and noted that it has already taken measures to comply with the DMA.

The Digital Markets Act took effect in March, with a list of dos and don’ts for big tech “gatekeeper” companies aimed at giving users more choices and threatening big penalties if they don’t comply.

The ruling can be appealed to the EU's Court of Justice, the bloc's highest court, but only on points of law.