Chinese social media giant TikTok has suffered a setback in its legal challenge against the European Union’s designation of the company as a digital gatekeeper, after an adviser to the bloc’s highest court recommended dismissing its appeal.
Advocate General Andrea Biondi of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) said the court should reject ByteDance-owned TikTok’s challenge to its classification under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), supporting an earlier ruling by a lower tribunal.
The case is the first DMA-related dispute to reach the CJEU and is being closely watched by other technology companies, including Americans, seeking clarity on how European courts will interpret the landmark legislation aimed at curbing the market power of major digital platforms.
TikTok challenged its gatekeeper designation after the European Commission classified it as a company subject to the DMA’s requirements.
The designation imposes obligations designed to limit anti-competitive practices and promote competition and consumer choice.
The EU General Court rejected TikTok’s challenge in 2024. Biondi said the lower court had not made the legal errors alleged by the company.
He also rejected the argument that TikTok’s position as a gatekeeper was undermined because users accessed other social networking services.
“The fact that users also use other social networks does not, in itself, show that TikTok is an unimportant gateway,” Biondi said.
The CJEU judges are expected to deliver their final ruling in the coming months.
Although opinions from advocates general are not binding, the judges follow their recommendations in approximately four out of five cases.
The DMA applies to designated digital gatekeepers, including Alphabet’s Google, Meta Platforms, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Booking.com.
Companies found breaching the legislation can face fines of up to 10% of their annual global turnover.
Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta is separately challenging the gatekeeper designation of its Messenger and Marketplace services, adding to the legal scrutiny surrounding the bloc’s digital competition framework.