Meta Platforms and TikTok on Wednesday won a legal challenge against the European Commission’s method for calculating supervisory fees under the Digital Services Act (DSA), forcing regulators to redesign the system within 12 months.
The Luxembourg-based General Court ruled that the Commission used the wrong legal basis when setting the levy, which was tied to companies’ global net income and user base. However, the court said the 2023 fees already paid will not be refunded while regulators revise the methodology, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Meta and TikTok argued the system was unfair, leaving some firms with disproportionately high costs while others – including loss-making companies with large user bases – paid nothing.
The Commission said the court confirmed the principle of the fee itself and described the ruling as requiring only a “formal correction” to adopt the methodology via a delegated act.
TikTok welcomed the decision, saying it would follow the process closely, while Meta said it hoped the flaws in the system would now be addressed.
Other tech giants, including Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, X, Snapchat, and Pinterest, are also subject to the annual supervisory fee under the DSA, which obliges large platforms to curb harmful and illegal content or face fines of up to 6% of global turnover.
