TikTok challenges EU 'gatekeeper' status at Europe's top court

By Foo Yun Chee

LUXEMBOURG, May 12 (Reuters) - Bytedance's societal media level TikTok connected Tuesday made a last- ditch effort astatine Europe's apical tribunal to scrap its ‌designation arsenic a "gatekeeper" nether EU rules, which necessitate it to conscionable tougher standards ‌as regulators question to curb the powerfulness of Big Tech.

The case--the archetypal EU Digital Markets Act "gatekeeper" situation heard by ​the EU Court of Justice--could bolster oregon weaken Europe's effort to rein successful Big Tech to guarantee contention and much prime for users.

TikTok was designated a "gatekeeper" nether DMA successful September 2023, joining different companies with much than 45 cardinal monthly users. These included Alphabet's Google, Meta Platforms, Apple, ‌Amazon, Microsoft and Booking.com.

A little tribunal ⁠tribunal had successful 2024 thrown retired TikTok's challenge, saying it met DMA criteria for the gatekeeper designation.

The DMA sets retired an onerous database of ⁠requirements aimed astatine curbing the powerfulness of Big Tech, with infringement fines arsenic precocious arsenic 10% of a company's yearly turnover.

DOESN'T MEET THE EU'S CRITERIA, TIKTOK SAYS

TikTok argued the tribunal had erred successful ​its ​ruling that the institution failed each 3 criteria for ​gatekeeper status: important marketplace impact, acting ‌as a cardinal concern gateway to users, and holding an entrenched marketplace position.

"ByteDance showed not lone that its marketplace headdress is overwhelmingly derived from its Asian businesses but besides they had nary transportation to Europe, look antithetic competitory dynamics and run successful a chiseled regulatory, linguistic and taste environment," TikTok's lawyer Bill Batchelor said astatine Europe's apical court.

He told the sheet of ‌15 judges that 70%-80% of TikTok users usage ​multiple different platforms successful parallel, including Meta Platform's Facebook and ​Instagram, Snap and X, and hence ​were not locked into TikTok's ecosystem.

"We notation to this arsenic 'multihoming.' That means ‌businesses tin scope the aforesaid extremity users ​via aggregate different platforms," ​Batchelor said.

A European Commission lawyer dismissed TikTok's arguments.

"Lock-in tin hap adjacent erstwhile immoderate grade of multihoming exists. For example, determination whitethorn beryllium circumstantial idiosyncratic groups that beryllium connected ​TikTok," Mislav Mataija told the ‌Court.

The Court volition regularisation successful the coming months. Meta Platforms is besides contesting ​its gatekeeper designation for Messenger and Marketplace.

The lawsuit is C-627/24 P Bytedance v ​Commission.

(Reporting by Foo Yun CheeEditing by Bernadette Baum)