EU Court Overturns Commission’s Supervisory Fees Decision for Meta and TikTok
On Wednesday, the EU’s General Court annulled a 2023 decision by the European Commission concerning supervisory fees levied on tech giants Meta and TikTok under the Digital Services Act (DSA), reports 24brussels. The Court ruled that the Commission improperly executed the decision regarding supervisory fees, emphasizing that it should have been adopted through a delegated act instead of an implementing decision.
The annual supervisory fees are charged to platforms identified as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs), with revenues generated from these fees allocated to enforce compliance with the DSA. In March 2024, both Meta and TikTok contested the fee calculation methodology utilized by the Commission for 2023.
The Commission based its fee calculations on the average number of monthly users on each platform in the EU, employing a “common methodology” derived from third-party data. However, the Court asserted that this methodology is an “essential and indispensable element” in determining the supervisory fees, thereby necessitating the adoption of fees through a delegated act that serves to amend or supplement the DSA.
Despite the annulment, the Court did not identify any error that would negate Meta and TikTok’s obligation to pay the supervisory fees for the year 2023. Thus, the ruling allows the Commission’s decision to remain in effect for a provisional period of up to 12 months, affording the EU executive adequate time to correctly implement the fees applicable to the two VLOPs.
The Commission acknowledged the ruling, stating, “The Court’s ruling requires a purely formal correction on the procedure: we now have 12 months to adopt a delegated act to formalise the fee calculation and adapt new implementing decisions.” It reaffirmed that the affected companies are still required to pay the supervisory fee for 2023.
