Business 30 November 2023, 10:08am

TikTok makes a commitment to the Competition Authority

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The Hungarian Economic Competition Authority's (GVH) proceedings against TikTok have ended with a voluntary commitment to implement a series of measures to ensure that TikTok's communication will improve, that consumers will be aware of the platform's features and that they will be able to make better informed choices about the service.

TikTok is a widely available video-sharing social networking service with a significant number of users in Hungary, including children. In 2020, the GVH opened an investigation into the US-registered, Chinese-owned service provider because it appeared likely that the global company was not exercising the professional care required by the principles of good faith and fairness in informing consumers about relevant information about the operation of the online platform, such as the scope of data processed when using the service and how it is used.

The GVH's proceedings ended with a commitment, which - without the Competition Authority finding an infringement or lack thereof - is possible on the basis of voluntary commitments offered by the company involved in the domestic service, TikTok Technology Ltd.

The commitment accepted by the Competition Council of the GVH will provide measures that, even in an ever-changing communication content, contractual terms, operational features and regulatory environment, will more directly ensure that TikTok's communication is improved and that Hungarian consumers are made aware of TikTok's features and thus make more informed consumer choices about the service.

The key elements of TikTok's commitment are:

creating a data centre for information;
the inclusion of TikTok videos on key features of the service, i.e. context-friendly presentation of data management issues and additional features;
default settings for users under 18 (e.g. daily screen time setting automatically); promotion of parental controls and other child protection settings;
20% voluntary advertising limit;
strengthening direct feedback from public authorities and other child protection forums.

TikTok will create a centralised online data protection centre worldwide, with services and content available in Hungarian. The company will also organise roundtable discussions for Hungarian NGOs and individual experts to present TikTok's activities and to learn about local concerns about the safety of minors.

The GVH will monitor the accurate and timely implementation of the commitment in a post-clearance investigation under a strict procedural framework, and the commitment does not exempt TikTok from compliance with other laws, the GVH said in its statement.

TikTok is not the only technology company to be targeted by the Hungarian Competition Authority. In recent years, the GVH has imposed antitrust remedies on Google and PayPal, among others, while Apple and Booking.com have paid significant competition fines in Hungary. The GVH is also currently investigating the behaviour of Viber, part of the Rakuten group, and a few months ago launched proceedings against Microsoft for possibly failing to adequately inform users about certain features of its search engine with artificial intelligence chat functionality.