Europe ramps up pressure on large online platforms 2 years after EU’s landmark regulation

Exactly two years after Brussels’ landmark Digital Services Act came into effect, European authorities are turning up the heat on some of the world’s largest online platforms, signalling a shift from preparatory compliance to proactive enforcement.

Platforms such as Meta Platforms, X Corp., TikTok and fast-fashion marketplace Shein now face criminal investigations, data-privacy probes and formal proceedings as European regulators seek accountability for harmful content and opaque platform designs.

Social media platforms under scrutiny

In Spain this week, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called on prosecutors to launch criminal investigations into Meta, X and TikTok over the alleged creation and dissemination of AI-generated sexual abuse material involving minors on their platforms.

The Spanish government says an expert report showing the rapid spread of such content demands legal action to protect children’s rights, mental health and dignity, and to end what Sánchez described as the “impunity” of tech giants.

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This move reflects growing discomfort among national regulators with the pace and effectiveness of platform moderation.

The allegation goes beyond ordinary content moderation failures: Spain is explicitly asking prosecutors to assess whether the operations of these platforms, powered by sophisticated generative AI systems, could constitute violations of criminal statutes related to child abuse material.

Alongside Spain’s actions, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) has opened a formal investigation into X’s AI chatbot Grok, after reports that the system generated harmful sexualised images, including those involving minors, despite safeguards introduced by the company. Ireland’s DPC is acting under the bloc’s strict General Data Protection Regulation framework, which necessitates rigorous oversight of data processing and exploitation risks.

TikTok and LinkedIn have also faced scrutiny from Irish authorities over potential failures in reporting illegal content, underscoring the broader regulatory appetite for enforcing platform accountability.

Marketplace platforms and addictive design

The European Commission itself has launched formal proceedings against Shein under the Digital Services Act, a significant escalation of enforcement action against one of the EU’s most popular online marketplaces.

The probe centres on concerns that Shein’s systems may allow the sale of illegal products, including items that could constitute child sexual abuse material, and deploy addictive design features and opaque recommender algorithms that could undermine consumer protection.

Commission regulators say the investigation will focus on whether Shein’s engagement-driven features, such as reward points and gamification mechanics, could harm user wellbeing, and whether steps taken to ensure transparency of product recommendations meet the DSA’s legal requirements. A failure to comply could leave Shein exposed to fines of up to 6 per cent of its global annual turnover.

Enforcement accelerates

These enforcement moves come amid a sense across the EU that the Digital Services Act’s two-year milestone represents more than a compliance deadline, it marks the beginning of a sustained regulatory campaign to rein in online harms.

In previous years, the European Commission has adopted a series of prior findings against platforms such as Meta and TikTok for breaches of obligations on transparency and access to data for researchers, demonstrating its willingness to use the DSA as a tool for accountability.

For regulators and policymakers in Europe, the message is clear: the era of gentle nudges toward moderation and self-regulation is giving way to formal inquiries, legal interventions and truly consequential oversight.

Whether these measures will effective curb harmful AI-generated content and platform design remains a central question as enforcement intensifies across the continent.