Meta Platforms and TikTok secured a legal victory on Wednesday against the European Commission over the way EU regulators calculated supervisory fees under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The General Court in Luxembourg ruled that the methodology used to determine the fees was flawed and must be reworked.
Both companies had challenged the 0.05% levy on annual worldwide net income, arguing the system unfairly imposed disproportionate costs. The fee is intended to fund the EU’s monitoring of large platforms’ compliance with the DSA, which requires them to better police harmful and illegal online content.
Court Ruling
The judges said the fee calculation method should have been set under a delegated act, rather than through implementing decisions, giving regulators 12 months to fix the legal framework. Importantly, the court said fees already paid for 2023 will not be reimbursed.
Reactions
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The European Commission said the ruling requires only a “formal correction” and that it will adopt a delegated act to formalize the methodology.
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TikTok welcomed the decision, pledging to monitor the new process.
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Meta emphasized that the current system unfairly burdens profitable companies while large loss-making platforms avoid payment, despite imposing heavy regulatory costs.
Wider Context
The DSA, which came into effect in November 2022, gives the EU sweeping oversight powers and allows fines of up to 6% of global turnover for non-compliance. Other major platforms subject to supervisory fees include Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Booking.com, X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, and Pinterest.
The cases were filed under references T-55/24 (Meta Platforms Ireland v Commission) and T-58/24 (TikTok Technology v Commission).