EU Levies Novel DSA Fees: Meta and TikTok Submit Requests, Exempting Loss-making Entities Like X from Payments

Meta and TikTok have requested an examination of the fees that companies must pay to EU regulatory agencies for content verification under the new Digital Services Act (DSA), citing that these fees are disproportionately calculated.

According to the provisions, the EU specifies that companies must pay fees calculated based on various factors. The amount paid to regulatory agencies should not exceed 0.05% of the company’s profits. However, representatives of Meta argue that this figure is unfair because companies that operate at a loss are not required to pay anything to the EU, regardless of the number of users they have.

On the other hand, TikTok representatives argue that the calculation of fees using user data from external companies by the EU results in inaccurate figures.

According to the DSA, there are 20 companies classified as large online platform companies, with the criteria being at least 45 million users within the EU. These companies are required to jointly pay an annual operational fee of €45.2 million to the EU. Initial figures indicate that Alphabet, Google’s parent company, will pay €22.1 million, Meta will pay €11 million, TikTok will pay €3.9 million, and Apple will pay €3 million. However, Amazon and X are exempt from payment as they incurred net losses during the assessment period.

EU representatives argue that companies have the right to submit objections for reconsideration. Nevertheless, the EU believes that the method for calculating the fees has been thoroughly considered. Amazon itself has also requested a reconsideration of the calculation criteria. However, it is based on the perspective of user numbers that should not reach the threshold.

TLDR: Meta and TikTok have requested a review of the fees imposed by the EU for content verification under the new Digital Services Act. They believe the fees are unfairly calculated, particularly as companies operating at a loss are not required to pay. However, the EU maintains that the fees were carefully considered and that objections can be submitted for reconsideration.