Meta and TikTok Challenge EU Tech Fees in European Court

EU Digital Services Act Fees

• 🇪🇺 Meta and TikTok are challenging supervisory fees levied by the EU in Europe's General Court, deeming them disproportionate and based on a flawed methodology.
• 💰 Under the Digital Services Act of 2022, these companies, along with 16 others, are subject to an annual levy of 0.05% of their annual worldwide net income.
• ⚖️ This fee is intended to cover the European Commission's costs for monitoring compliance with the law.

Calculation Disputes

• 📊 The size of the fee is determined by the number of average monthly active users and the company's profit or loss status in the preceding financial year.
• 📈 Meta argues the calculation was based on the group's revenue rather than a subsidiary's, leading to "implausible and absurd results," and stated it was not trying to avoid its fair share.
• 📉 ByteDance-owned TikTok claims the fee used "inaccurate figures and discriminatory methods."
• 💬 The European Commission defended its calculations, asserting that both companies had sufficient information to understand the fee figures.

Outlook

• ⏳ The court is expected to issue its ruling sometime next year.