Irish media regulator opens investigations into TikTok, LinkedIn

DUBLIN, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Ireland's media regulator began investigations into TikTok and LinkedIn on Tuesday 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.

Many large tech multinationals have their European headquarters in Ireland. If a provider is found in violation of the DSA, the Irish regulator can fine it up to 6% of its annual turnover.

The investigations into TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, and Microsoft's LinkedIn, stem from a review of online providers' compliance with a requirement to put in place mechanisms to allow users to report illegal content.

"In the case of these platforms, 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, the Irish regulator's digital services commissioner.

Evans said a number of other providers have made significant changes to their reporting mechanisms for illegal content after engagement with the regulator. It has requested further information from some and is not ruling out further regulatory action, he added.

The Irish regulator opened its first probe under the DSA last month, an investigation into social media platform X.

The EU has cracked down on Big Tech using the DSA, which requires large platforms such as social media sites and search engines to have robust measures in place to mitigate the spread of illegal and harmful content.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Aidan Lewis)