EUROPEAN COMMISSION

CASE DMA.100040 ByteDance – Online

social networking services

(Only the English text is authentic)

Digital Markets Act

Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 of the European Parliament
and of the Council

Article 3 Regulation (EU) 2022/1925

Date: 05/09/2023

This text is made available for information purposes only. A summary of this decision is
published in all EU languages in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Parts of this text have been edited to ensure that confidential information is not disclosed.
Those parts are replaced by a non-confidential summary in square brackets or are shown as
[…].
 EUROPEAN
COMMISSION

Brussels, 5.9.2023
C(2023) 6102 final

PUBLIC VERSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 5.9.2023

designating ByteDance as a gatekeeper pursuant to Article 3 of Regulation (EU)

2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council on contestable and fair
markets in the digital sector

DMA.100040 ByteDance - Online social networking services

(Only the English text is authentic)

EN EN
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 2
2. The Undertaking........................................................................................................... 2
3. Procedure...................................................................................................................... 3
4. Legal framework for the designation of gatekeepers pursuant to Regulation (EU)
2022/1925..................................................................................................................... 3
4.1. The delineation of CPSs ............................................................................................... 3
4.2. The designation of gatekeepers pursuant to Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 5
4.3. The rebuttal of the presumptions of Article 3(2) pursuant to Article 3(5) of
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 ........................................................................................ 5
5. The core platform services ........................................................................................... 6
5.1. ByteDance’s online social networking service TikTok .............................................. 7
5.1.1. CPS qualification and delineation ............................................................................... 7
5.1.1.1. The Undertaking’s view ............................................................................................... 7
5.1.1.2. The Commission’s assessment..................................................................................... 9
5.1.2. Thresholds laid down in Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 ...................... 17
5.1.2.1. Thresholds laid down in Article 3(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 .................. 17
5.1.2.2. Thresholds laid down in Article 3(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925................... 17
5.1.2.3. Thresholds laid down in Article 3(2)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 .................. 18
5.1.3. Arguments pursuant to Article 3(5) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 ........................ 23
5.1.3.1. The Undertaking’s view ............................................................................................. 23
5.1.3.2. The Commission’s assessment................................................................................... 28
5.1.4. Conclusion for TikTok ............................................................................................... 37
6. Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 37

EN 1 EN
 COMMISSION DECISION

of 5.9.2023

designating ByteDance as a gatekeeper pursuant to Article 3 of Regulation (EU)

2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council on contestable and fair
markets in the digital sector

DMA.100040 ByteDance - Online social networking services

(Only the English text is authentic)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 14 September 2022 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector and amending
Directives (EU) 2019/1937 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Digital Markets Act), in particular Article 3
thereof, 1
Whereas:

1. INTRODUCTION
(1) On 3 July 2023, ByteDance Ltd. notified 2 to the Commission, pursuant to Article
3(3), first subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, that ByteDance Ltd.,
together with all legal entities directly or indirectly controlled by ByteDance Ltd.
(hereinafter collectively referred to as “ByteDance” or “the Undertaking”) meets the
thresholds laid down in Article 3(2)(a) and (b), but not Article 3(2)(c), of that
Regulation in relation to the following core platform services (“CPSs”):
(i) ByteDance’s video-sharing platform service (or alternatively, ByteDance’s online
social networking service) 3 TikTok, and (ii) ByteDance’s online advertising services.

2. THE UNDERTAKING
(2) ByteDance is a global technology group that operates the content platform TikTok.
(3) ByteDance’s parent company is ByteDance Ltd., which was founded in 2012, is
incorporated in the Cayman Islands, 4 […]. TikTok Technology Limited is a
subsidiary of ByteDance, 5 established in Ireland, which operates ByteDance’s

1
OJ L 265, 12.10.2022, p. 1.
2
ByteDance Ltd., Notification pursuant to Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, Form for Gatekeeper
Designation (GD), notified on 3 July 2023 (“Form GD”).
3
See Form GD, paragraph 36: ByteDance submits that it does not qualify as an online social networking
service within the meaning of Article 2 point (2), subpoint (c) and Article 2, point (7) of Regulation
(EU) 2022/1925. However, ByteDance proposes an alternative delineation of TikTok as an online social
networking service solely for completeness and without prejudice to its view that it considers that this
qualification is legally incorrect.
4
Form GD, paragraph 16.
5
Technology Limited is directly controlled by TikTok Information Technologies UK Ltd. which in turn
is indirectly controlled by ByteDance Ltd.

EN 2 EN
 platform service TikTok in the Union. TikTok was launched in the Union in August
2018.

3. PROCEDURE
(4) On 3 July 2023, ByteDance submitted a complete Form GD pursuant to Article 3(3),
first subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
(5) On 26 July 2023, the Commission sent a letter to ByteDance concerning
ByteDance’s notification under Article 3(3) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 (“the
Commission’s letter of 26 July 2023”). 6 In that letter, the Commission set out its
preliminary views on ByteDance’s possible designation as a gatekeeper pursuant to
Article 3(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 and on its intention to list in ByteDance’s
designation decision the following CPS that is provided by ByteDance and which
individually appears to constitute an important gateway for business users to reach
end users: (i) ByteDance’s online social networking service TikTok.
(6) On 2 August 2023, ByteDance submitted a reply to the Commission’s letter of
26 July 2023 (“ByteDance’s 2 August 2023 reply”). 7
(7) On 17 August 2023, a virtual meeting took place, at ByteDance’s request, between
ByteDance and the Commission services for ByteDance to present and further
explain the arguments and views presented in its Form GD and in its 2 August 2023
reply.

4. LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE DESIGNATION OF GATEKEEPERS PURSUANT TO

REGULATION (EU) 2022/1925
(8) Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 sets out the rules for the designation of
gatekeepers. An undertaking shall be designated as a gatekeeper under that
Regulation if it satisfies the requirements set out in Article 3(1) thereof. An
undertaking shall be presumed to satisfy those requirements where it meets the
quantitative thresholds laid down in Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
Pursuant to Article 3(9) of that Regulation, the designation decision shall list the
relevant CPSs that are provided by the undertaking and that are an important gateway
for business users to reach end users as referred to in Article 3(1)(b).
4.1. The delineation of CPSs
(9) Article 2, point (2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 lists ten CPS categories, namely:
(a) online intermediation services, (b) online search engines, (c) online social
networking services, (d) video-sharing platform services, (e) number-independent
interpersonal communications services, (f) operating systems, (g) web browsers,
(h) virtual assistants, (i) cloud computing services, and (j) online advertising
services, including any advertising networks, advertising exchanges and any other
advertising intermediation services, provided by an undertaking that provides any of
the CPSs listed in points (a) to (i).
(10) In order to determine whether a service provided by an undertaking is a CPS that
meets the requirement set out in Article 3(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, it is

6
That letter followed up on exchanges that took place with TikTok Technology Limited prior to
notification.
7
ByteDance’s reply of 2 August 2023 to the Commission’s letter of 26 July 2023.

EN 3 EN
 necessary, as a preliminary step, to proceed to the delineation of this service. To
delineate a service, a number of provisions in Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 are of
relevance, including in particular the following.
(11) Section D, paragraph 2, of the Annex to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 provides that,
for the purpose of calculating the number of ‘active end users’ and ‘active business
users’ under Article 3(2)(b) of that Regulation:
• undertakings shall not identify CPSs that belong to the same category of CPSs
pursuant to Article 2, point (2), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 as distinct
mainly on the basis that they are provided using different domain names,
whether country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) or generic top-level
domains (gTLDs), or any geographic attributes; 8
• undertakings shall consider as distinct those CPSs that either (i) do not belong
to the same category of CPSs pursuant to Article 2, point (2), of Regulation
(EU) 2022/1925, even if they are offered in an integrated way; 9 or (ii) are used
for different purposes by either their end users or their business users, or both,
even if their end users and/or business users may be the same, even if the CPSs
belong to the same category pursuant to Article 2, point (2), of that Regulation,
and even if they are offered in an integrated way. 10
(12) In light of the foregoing, CPSs may be considered distinct even if they fall within the
same category of CPSs. In such cases, a relevant criterion for identifying distinct
CPSs within the same category of CPSs is the purpose for which the service is used
by either end users or business users, or both. 11 Furthermore, different services may
constitute a single CPS, if they are used for the same purpose from both an end user
and a business user perspective, unless they belong to different categories of the
CPSs listed in Article 2, point (2), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
(13) Moreover, Article 13(1) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 provides that no practice by
an undertaking providing CPSs which consists of segmenting, dividing, subdividing,
fragmenting or splitting those services through contractual, commercial, technical or
any other means in order to circumvent the quantitative thresholds laid down in
Article 3(2) of that Regulation shall prevent the Commission from designating it as a
gatekeeper pursuant to Article 3(4) of that Regulation.
(14) As recital (11) of the preamble to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 points out, that
Regulation pursues an objective that is complementary to, but different from, that of
EU competition rules, which is to protect undistorted competition on any given
market. Consequently, the application of EU competition rules, including
competition law precedents, is without prejudice to the application of Regulation
(EU) 2022/1925, and vice versa. Accordingly, the delineation of CPSs under
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 has no bearing on the definition of the relevant market
for the purpose of applying EU competition rules (and vice versa) and those two
types of analyses may thus lead to different results.

8
Annex to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, Section D, point 2(a).
9
Annex to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, Section D, point 2(c)(i).
10
Annex to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, Section D, points 2(b) and (c)(ii).
11
The same applies when the undertaking provides CPSs in an integrated way.

EN 4 EN
 4.2. The designation of gatekeepers pursuant to Article 3 of Regulation (EU)
2022/1925
(15) According to Article 3(1) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, the Commission is to
designate an undertaking as a gatekeeper if it fulfils three cumulative requirements,
namely: (a) it has a significant impact on the internal market; (b) it provides a CPS
which is an important gateway for business users to reach end users; and (c) it enjoys
an entrenched and durable position, in its operations, or it is foreseeable that it will
enjoy such a position in the near future.
(16) Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 lays down a presumption that those
requirements are satisfied where certain quantitative thresholds are met, namely:
(a) an undertaking is presumed to have a significant impact on the internal market
where it achieves an annual Union turnover equal to or above EUR 7.5 billion
in each of the last three financial years, or where its average market
capitalisation or its equivalent fair market value amounted to at least EUR
75 billion in the last financial year, and it provides the same CPS in at least
three Member States;
(b) an undertaking is presumed to provide a CPS which is an important gateway
for business users to reach end users where it provides a CPS that, in the last
financial year, had at least 45 million monthly active end users established or
located in the Union and at least 10 000 yearly active business users
established in the Union, identified and calculated in accordance with the
methodology and indicators set out in the Annex to Regulation (EU)
2022/1925;
(c) an undertaking is presumed to enjoy an entrenched and durable position, in its
operations, or it is foreseeable that it will enjoy such a position in the near
future, where the thresholds in point (b) were met in each of the last three
financial years.
(17) Pursuant to Article 3(3) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, an undertaking providing
CPSs that meets all of the thresholds in Article 3(2) is to notify the Commission
without delay and in any event within two months after those thresholds are met, by
providing it with the relevant information referred to in Article 3(2). Pursuant to
Article 3(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, the Commission is to designate the
undertaking as a gatekeeper without undue delay and at the latest within 45 working
days after receiving the complete information referred to in Article 3(3) of that
Regulation.
(18) Pursuant to Article 3(8), first subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, an
undertaking that does not satisfy each of the thresholds laid down in Article 3(2) but
meets each of the requirements of Article 3(1) of that Regulation is to be designated
as a gatekeeper in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17.
4.3. The rebuttal of the presumptions of Article 3(2) pursuant to Article 3(5) of
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
(19) Once the conditions for the applicability of the presumptions laid down in Article
3(2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 are met in relation to a CPS, the undertaking
concerned is deemed to be a gatekeeper in relation to that CPS, unless the
undertaking concerned rebuts these presumptions pursuant to Article 3(5), first
subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. Pursuant to the latter provision, an
undertaking that meets all the thresholds laid down in Article 3(2) of that Regulation

EN 5 EN
 may present, with its notification, arguments to demonstrate that, although it meets
all those thresholds, it exceptionally does not satisfy the requirements laid down in
Article 3(1) of that Regulation due to the circumstances in which the relevant core
platform service operates.
(20) As explained in recital (23) of the preamble to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, the
undertaking concerned bears the burden of adducing the evidence rebutting the
presumptions. Moreover, as recital (23) further explains, the arguments taken into
account by the Commission in that regard should relate directly to the quantitative
criteria laid down in Article 3(2). Accordingly, any justification on economic
grounds such as those related to market definition or to efficiencies should be
discarded, because it is not relevant to the designation as a gatekeeper.
(21) Article 3(5), second subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 provides that if the
arguments submitted are not sufficiently substantiated because they do not
manifestly call into question the presumptions set out in Article 3(2) of that
Regulation, the Commission may reject the arguments within 45 working days after
receiving the complete information referred to in Article 3(3). By contrast, pursuant
to Article 3(5), third subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, if the undertaking
presents sufficiently substantiated arguments manifestly calling into question the
above-mentioned presumptions, the Commission may open a market investigation
pursuant to Article 17(3) of that Regulation.
(22) In situations in which the Commission considers that the submitted evidence is
sufficient to demonstrate that the requirements laid down in Article 3(1) of
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 are not fulfilled, it may accept the rebuttal without
opening a market investigation.

5. THE CORE PLATFORM SERVICES

(23) As set out in recital (1) above, ByteDance’s Form GD refers to two CPSs:
(i) ByteDance’s video-sharing platform service (or alternatively, ByteDance’s online
social networking service) TikTok (Section 5.1): and (ii) ByteDance’s online
advertising service.
(24) As regards ByteDance’s online advertising services, ByteDance argues that it meets
the business user thresholds laid down in Article 3(2)(b) of Regulation (EU)
2022/1925, but not those of Article 3(2)(c) of that Regulation. 12 As provided by
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, in particular Section A(1) of the Annex to that
Regulation, it is ByteDance’s responsibility to undertake a self-assessment and come
to the best approximation possible for identifying and calculating active end users
and active business users of the CPSs that it provides. The Commission notes that
receipt of this self-assessment as presented in the Form GD does not amount to an
endorsement of its approximation methodology and its results and is without
prejudice to the Commission requesting further information in relation to that service
in the future.

12
See Form GD, Table 2.

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 5.1. ByteDance’s online social networking service TikTok
5.1.1. CPS qualification and delineation
5.1.1.1. The Undertaking’s view
(25) ByteDance notified TikTok as a video-sharing platform CPS within the meaning of
Article 2, point (2), subpoint (d), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
(26) According to ByteDance, TikTok is an entertainment platform that allows users to
post, view, or search for videos and live streams, comment on and like videos, and
follow chosen video creators. ByteDance further explains that TikTok “suggests
videos curated to the users’ interests based on their interaction with the service and
offers the option to follow particular users.” […] “The algorithm refines the feed
based on user engagement (i.e., whether the user likes the video, watch time,
comments, or whether the user follows this or similar accounts) and video
information (i.e., captions, hashtags, video descriptions, text overlays, and sounds) to
serve more videos tailored to the user’s interests.” 13 According to ByteDance, most
users do not post videos or live streams, but only consume this content on TikTok.
ByteDance adds that “[a]ny user can create and post videos on TikTok and be a
‘creator’.” 14
(27) ByteDance submits that TikTok does not qualify as an online social networking
service within the meaning of Article 2, point (7), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925,
and it therefore notified TikTok as an online social networking CPS solely for
completeness and without prejudice to its view that this qualification is legally
incorrect. ByteDance’s claim that TikTok does not qualify as an online social
networking CPS but rather as a video-sharing platform CPS is based on the following
reasons.
(28) First, ByteDance submits that Article 2, point (7), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
defines an online social networking service by reference to its primary purpose and
core function, namely connecting friends and family, 15 and that the qualification of a
service under a given category of CPS should be done on the basis of its primary
purpose. It also submits that videos are described in Article 2, point (7), of that
Regulation as just one type of content that falls within the definition of online social
networking services, together with chats, posts and recommendations. 16
(29) Second, ByteDance submits that TikTok’s primary purpose and core function is not
to facilitate social connections with friends and family, but to allow users to view
content in the form of short, posted videos curated to and aligned with their personal
interests based on their interaction with the service. 17 As such, ByteDance submits
that TikTok does not depend on end users identifying “friends”, nor on information
based on a social graph to view or share content. 18 According to ByteDance, users

13
Form GD, paragraph 26.
14
Form GD, paragraph 45.
15
Form GD, paragraphs 23-25.
16
Form GD, paragraph 24.
17
Form GD, paragraphs 26-27 and as further laid out in ByteDance’s 2 August 2023 reply, paragraph 10.
18
Annex 4 to the Form GD, paragraph 5; Form GD, paragraph 14 and ByteDance’s 2 August reply,
paragraph 10. ByteDance claims that a “social graph” focuses on the information generated from
personal interaction for deciding what content end users see, whereas in a “content graph”, end user
preferences determine what is shown, rather than delivering content on a relationship basis.

EN 7 EN
 upload videos on TikTok aiming to reach as many other TikTok users as possible,
regardless of whether such users are followers or friends.
(30) ByteDance further contends that TikTok qualifies as a content sharing or
entertainment platform with an indefinite audience, while online social networking
services focus on enabling personal interactions.
(31) Furthermore, ByteDance submits that TikTok is only marginally used for social
networking purposes, even if its platform offers basic and ancillary messaging,
comment functions and the ability to follow particular creators. 19 To support its
submission that TikTok’s social networking features are ancillary to its video-sharing
purpose, ByteDance refers to recital (51) of the preamble to Regulation (EU)
2022/1925, on the basis of which it claims that the distribution of videos through a
video-sharing platform service should be distinguished from displaying information
in the newsfeed of an online social networking service and it points out that TikTok
does not have a newsfeed. 20 ByteDance asserts that only a limited portion of
TikTok’s end users (i.e., approximately […]%) engages in social interactions on its
platform, which ByteDance defines as “likes, comments, profile views, direct
messages, and shares”. 21 ByteDance further asserts that […]% of video views on
TikTok relate to content shared between mutual followers; TikTok’s daily active
users have a median of […] friends on TikTok; […]% of video content posted by
TikTok users is posted to the platform as a whole, and; on average […]% of video
views on TikTok are obtained from the “For You” page, as opposed to […]% from
the “Follow” page and […]% from the “Friends” page. 22 ByteDance submits that
these figures are insufficient to establish that a service qualifies as an online social
networking service.
(32) From the perspective of business users, ByteDance claims that TikTok’s offering for
business users centres on video-sharing, whereas true social networks provide a
much wider feature set for business users to reach end users. 23
(33) Third, ByteDance submits that user experience research conducted or commissioned
by TikTok confirms that end users see TikTok as an entertainment platform and not
as an online social network, […]. 24
(34) Fourth, ByteDance submits that […], confirming that TikTok’s value proposition is
about content discovery, not about establishing or maintaining real-world
connections. 25
(35) Fifth, ByteDance submits that there is no basis in Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 for a
delineation of CPSs depending on whether a service “goes beyond” certain
functionalities. 26 ByteDance claims that pursuant to the definition of a video-sharing
platform service laid down in Article 1(1), point (aa), of Directive 2010/13/EU, 27 it is

19
Form GD, paragraph 27 as further laid out in ByteDance’s 2 August reply, paragraphs 9 and 10.
20
ByteDance’s 2 August reply, paragraph 11.
21
Form GD, footnote 12.
22
Form GD, paragraph 27.
23
Form GD, paragraph 14.
24
Form GD, paragraph 28-30.
25
Form GD, paragraph 35.
26
ByteDance’s 2 August reply, paragraph 8.
27
Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2010 on the
coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member

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 irrelevant that the service has certain additional features or functionalities, but that
the “principal purpose” or “essential functionality” of the service must be devoted to
video sharing. Accordingly, ByteDance reiterates that the TikTok platform’s
principal purpose is video sharing and that it should therefore be qualified solely as a
video-sharing CPS. 28
(36) Sixth, ByteDance submits that it would be a breach of the principle of equal
treatment to qualify services of other undertakings that share the same functionalities
as TikTok as video-sharing platforms, whereas TikTok would be qualified as an
online social networking service. 29
(37) Finally, ByteDance submits that key competition and consumer protection authorities
have determined that TikTok is not a social network, but rather a social media
platform or an entertainment platform. 30
5.1.1.2. The Commission’s assessment
(38) Article 2, point (2), subpoints (c) and (d), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 list online
social networking services and video-sharing platform services, respectively, as
categories of CPSs within the meaning of that Regulation.
(39) Article 2, point (7), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 defines an ‘online social
networking service’ as “a platform that enables end users to connect and
communicate with each other, share content and discover other users and content
across multiple devices and, in particular, via chats, posts, videos and
recommendations”.
(40) Article 2, point (8), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 defines a ‘video-sharing platform
service’ by cross-referring to Article 1(1), point (aa), of Directive 2010/13/EU, as
amended by Directive (EU) 2018/1808. The latter provision defines a video-sharing
platform service as “a service as defined by Articles 56 and 57 [TFEU], where the
principal purpose of the service or of a dissociable section thereof or an essential
functionality of the service is devoted to providing programmes, user-generated
videos, or both, to the general public, for which the video-sharing platform provider
does not have editorial responsibility, in order to inform, entertain or educate, by
means of electronic communications networks within the meaning of point (a) of
Article 2 of Directive 2002/21/EC and the organisation of which is determined by the
video-sharing platform provider, including by automatic means or algorithms in
particular by displaying, tagging and sequencing.”
(41) As follows from the above, the definition of ‘video-sharing platform service’ laid
down in Article 1(1), point (aa), of Directive 2010/13/EU focuses on the provision of
programmes or user-generated videos in order to inform, entertain or educate. By
contrast, the definition of ‘online social networking service’ in Article 2, point (7), of
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 mentions the sharing of videos as one among several
features and functionalities of an online social networking service and describes that
service as enabling users to connect and communicate with each other, share content,
and discover other users and content.

States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services (Audiovisual Media Services Directive),
OJ L 095 15.4.2010, p. 1.
28
ByteDance’s 2 August reply, paragraph 8.
29
ByteDance’s 2 August reply, paragraph 12.
30
Form GD, paragraphs 31-34.

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 (42) The Commission does not contest that, in line with ByteDance’s view, TikTok meets
the definition of a video-sharing platform service within the meaning of Article 2,
point (8), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 because an essential functionality of that
service is devoted to user-generated videos. However, the Commission considers that
the features and functionalities of TikTok go beyond those of a video-sharing
platform service. As explained in recitals (43) to (65) below, the Commission
considers that TikTok not only fulfils the definition of an online social networking
service, but that that classification also best reflects the characteristics and breadth of
TikTok’s features and functionalities. Consequently, the Commission considers that
TikTok constitutes an online social networking CPS within the meaning of Article 2,
point (2), subpoint (c), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. This finding is based on the
following considerations.
(43) First, TikTok offers all the features and functionalities of an online social networking
service that are expressly listed in Article 2, point (7), of Regulation (EU)
2022/1925, of which the sharing of videos is only one functionality, and it enables
end users to carry out all the user activities referred to in that provision. TikTok
enables connections and communications between users, across multiple devices, by
allowing them to form networks and interact through various means, such as through
videos (including through the possibility to upload collaborative content via “duets”
or “stitch” videos, video replies and live streams 31), as well as photos, 32 text-based
posts, 33 likes, comments, content sharing and hashtags. TikTok also has a chat
function and allows users to follow other users and to participate in trends 34 and
memes. 35 In particular, end users are able to share videos with other users, and in
doing so, to use all features and functionalities offered by the TikTok platform,
including TikTok’s chat functionality as well as its feed. Moreover, users can interact
with one another through communities focusing on specific interests. 36 For example,
the TikTok Book Club (commonly identified by the #BookTok hashtag by TikTok
users) is used by end users to discuss new book titles together, discover new titles,
and create and share reviews. 37 Another example consists in communities formed
among culinary enthusiasts or fitness professionals. 38
(44) Contrary to ByteDance’s submissions, all of these offerings, including the possibility
to share videos, enable users to engage in shared activities and experiences with
other users (regardless of whether they know these users outside the context of
TikTok) and foster a sense of community and social interactions. This is further

31
See https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-gb/enhancing-the-live-community-experience-with-new-features-
updates-and-policies, last accessed on 9 August 2023.
32
See https://www.tiktok.com/creators/creator-portal/en-us/product-feature-updates/tiktok-pulse-
enhanced-editing-tools-new-product-features-for-booktok/ , last accessed on 28 August 2023.
33
See https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/text-posts last accessed on 9 August 2023.
34
See https://ads.tiktok.com/business/creativecenter/trends/home/pc/en and
https://ads.tiktok.com/business/creativecenter/inspiration/popular/pc/en last accessed on 21 August
2023.
35
A “meme” is “An image, video, piece of text, or something similar, that parodies or provokes humour,
that is usually spread virally on the internet by internet users who sometimes adapt or vary the meme
when passing it on” (see https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/legal/glossary/meme, last accessed on 21 August
2023 and also https://www.tiktok.com/safety/en/online-challenges/, last accessed on 9 August 2023).
36
See https://www.tiktok.com/business/en/blog/communities-on-tiktok last accessed on 9 August 2023.
37
See https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-gb/the-tiktok-bookclub last accessed on 9 August 2023.
38
See https://www.tiktok.com/browse/fitness/all last accessed 25 August 2023 and
https://www.tiktok.com/browse/recipes-food-trends/all last accessed 25 August 2023.

EN 10 EN
 supported by the way in which ByteDance describes TikTok in its Terms of Service,
in which it explains that that service allows users to “create, view, interact with and
share content, and interact with others.” 39 Furthermore, on its website, ByteDance
states that features such as commenting on TikTok serve as a “way to interact and
build connections with the TikTok community” 40 and that users can use the “Share”
function to “share trending sounds, creators, or videos with friends, family, and your
larger community within TikTok or through other social media platforms.” 41
(45) Second, TikTok’s algorithm, designed to analyse user behaviour and preferences,
generates personalised content suggestions that enable end users not only to discover
content that might be of interest to them (e.g. videos), but also to discover other users
who create content, across multiple devices. 42 These features enable end users to
connect and communicate with each other, as well as share and discover content via
recommendations suggested by either TikTok’s algorithm and/or other users.
TikTok’s “For You” page, for example, showcases a diverse array of videos tailored
to each user’s interests and helps users to discover a wide range of content, creators,
communities and products, thereby creating social interactions. 43
(46) Furthermore, ByteDance itself acknowledges that connections amongst users exist on
TikTok by offering a “Following” feed which serves to suggest content based on
accounts that the user has chosen to follow and a “Friends” tab suggesting videos
from followers that the user follows back or other suggested accounts such as those
belonging to someone in the user’s phone contacts or friends list on Facebook. 44 In
addition, this interactive and interconnected network of creators, users and brands
encourages users to share content and to discover other users and content, which are
core features of an online social networking service.
(47) In any event, the Commission further considers that none of ByteDance’s
submissions call into question its finding that TikTok is an online social networking
CPS. That is so for the following reasons.
(48) First, contrary to what ByteDance claims, the fact that a particular service displays
features of both an online social networking service and a video-sharing platform
service does not mean that it must automatically be classified as a video-sharing
platform service. Indeed, Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 does not preclude the
possibility that a service falling within the broader definition of online social
networking services laid down in Article 2, point (7), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
may also meet the narrower definition of video-sharing platform services laid down
in Article 2, point (8), of that Regulation. Similarly, Article 1(1), point (aa), of
Directive 2010/13/EU does not preclude that a service meeting the definition of a

39
See https://www.tiktok.com/legal/page/eea/terms-of-service/en, last updated in August 2023 and last
accessed on 9 August 2023.
40
See https://support.tiktok.com/en/using-tiktok/messaging-and-notifications/comments last accessed on
10 August 2023.
41
See https://support.tiktok.com/en/using-tiktok/exploring-videos/sharing last accessed on 10 August
2023, clarifying that user interactions does not entail just sharing videos, but also following different
accounts as well as commenting on different posts.
42
See also: https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/how-tiktok-recommends-videos-for-you last accessed on
28 August 2023.
43
See https://newsroom.tiktok.com/fr-fr/de-nouveaux-moyens-pour-reactualiser-votre-fil-pour-toi-sur-
tiktok and https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-gb/why-this-tiktok last accessed on 9 August 2023.
44
See https://support.tiktok.com/en/using-tiktok/exploring-videos/friends-tab last accessed on 9 August
2023.

EN 11 EN
 video-sharing platform service may offer further functionalities and serve a broader
purpose, and thus may qualify as an online social networking service within the
meaning of Article 2, point (7), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. Furthermore, the
terms “essential functionality of the service” in Article 1(1), point (aa), of Directive
2010/13/EU suggest that, under the definition of a video-sharing platform service
laid down in that Directive, a service may have a focus on video-sharing and at the
same time offer more features and functionalities and thus may meet the more
encompassing definition of an online social networking service under Article (2),
point (7), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
(49) As explained in the recitals above, this is the case for TikTok. TikTok’s features and
functionalities go beyond the provision of a video-sharing platform service, i.e., they
are not limited to providing user-generated videos to the general public in order to
inform, entertain or educate. Rather, TikTok is a platform where users can engage in
broader social interactions through, among others, trends, via not only videos, but
also photos, text posts, messages, likes, and comments. 45 As explained above, the
(more encompassing) definition of an online social networking service pursuant to
Article 2, point (7), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 is a more accurate representation
of TikTok’s broad set of features and functionalities.
(50) Second, contrary to ByteDance’s claim, 46 TikTok’s social networking features
cannot be considered ancillary “non-essential” features to a video-sharing platform
service. Apart from the fact that sharing videos is one of the features of an online
social networking service, as defined in Article 2, point (7), of Regulation (EU)
2022/1925, that claim should be rejected for the following reasons.
(51) In the first place, TikTok’s functionalities listed in recital (43) above, including
notably the features that ByteDance itself considers to constitute social interactions
(i.e., “likes, comments, profile views, direct messages, and shares, etc.”), 47 go
beyond video-sharing, and enhance the user experience of TikTok as an online social
networking service. Those functionalities, which synergise and interact with the
video-sharing features of TikTok, enable users to connect, communicate, share, and
discover new content, in line with the definition of an online social networking
service laid down in Article 2, point (7), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. For
example, TikTok’s community guidelines clearly stipulate that “comments and direct
messages on TikTok allow our users to interact with videos or directly with others,
and provide an integral interactive experience to the platform.” 48 In addition, some
of these interactions can take place in real time through the TikTok LIVE
functionality. 49 These are essential functionalities that drive user engagement and
interaction on the TikTok platform. For instance, the ‘like’ feature not only serves as
an endorsement of content but also influences the algorithm affecting the
recommendations and discoverability of videos and aiding in the formation of

45
See https://www.tiktok.com/legal/page/global/reporting-illegal-content/en, last accessed on 28 August
2023, which clearly suggests that type of engagement on TikTok goes well beyond sharing of videos. In
particular, TikTok stipulates that there are number of different activities and engagement with the
service that may be reported as illegal, such as sharing content featuring images which sexualise young
people or engaging in any form of illegal threats.
46
ByteDance’s 2 August reply, paragraph 8; and Form GD, paragraph 6.
47
Form GD, footnote 12.
48
See https://www.tiktok.com/community-guidelines/en/accounts-features/#3 last accessed on 28 August
2023.
49
See: https://support.tiktok.com/en/live-gifts-wallet/tiktok-live last accessed on 28 August 2023.

EN 12 EN
 communities around shared interests or trending topics. 50 Similarly, the
recommendation system plays a dual role: it not only surfaces relevant content for
individual consumption but also suggests profiles and communities for users to
connect with, effectively serving as a networking tool.
(52) In the second place, TikTok’s functionalities other than video-sharing allow users not
only to exchange video content, but also to discover content and other users through
shared interests based on their engagement with the service, thereby facilitating new
social interactions. Enabling the broadening of an end user’s existing circle is another
characteristic of an online social networking service as defined in Article 2, point (7),
of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. In any event, ByteDance’s claim that TikTok does
not qualify as an online social networking service on the ground that only a limited
portion of its end users allegedly engage in social interaction, fails to consider that
TikTok’s video-sharing functionality also constitutes (in addition to other
functionalities such as likes, comments, profile views, direct messages, shares,
follows, and photo and text-based posts) a way for users to connect and communicate
and thus can be used as a means for social interactions between users.
(53) In the third place, TikTok actively uses its users’ existing contacts from either their
TikTok account, their phone, or other social networking services to suggest
additional accounts for users to follow. 51 For example, on the section of TikTok’s
website explaining how TikTok suggests accounts to users, TikTok explains:
“Depending on the information you allow TikTok to share, we may suggest your
account to: • Contacts • Facebook friends • People with mutual connections •
People who open or send links to you”. TikTok’s “suggested accounts” feature is a
clear indication that TikTok aims to create social interactions.
(54) In the fourth place and in any event, the alleged proportion of end users that engage
in what ByteDance considers to constitute social interactions (i.e., “likes, comments,
profile views, direct messages, and shares, etc.”) 52 is rather significant (i.e.,
approximately […]% of end users according to ByteDance) 53. Those data thus do not
disprove, but rather support, the finding that TikTok’s features and functionalities
aimed at social interactions are not ancillary to its video-sharing features, contrary to
ByteDance’s claim. This is further underlined by the fact that TikTok’s users engage
with videos posted by other users, in the form of likes, comments and shares, at a
significantly higher rate than users on other social networks do. 54
(55) Third, contrary to ByteDance’s submission, it is irrelevant that end users who
connect and communicate on TikTok may lack a real-world connection to the
accounts that they follow, or may not be friends, family, followers or specific
personally-identified contacts. The definition of an online social networking service
laid down in Article 2, point (7), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 is in no way limited
50
See https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/how-tiktok-recommends-videos-for-you last accessed
27 August 2023
51
See https://support.tiktok.com/en/account-and-privacy/account-privacy-settings/suggested-accounts last
accessed on 27 August 2023.
52
Form GD, footnote 12.
53
See recital (31).
54
See https://www rivaliq.com/blog/good-engagement-rate-tiktok/, last accessed on 27 August 2023. This
article defines engagement as “measurable interaction on organic and paid social media posts”. It
further specifies that on TikTok “this includes likes, comments and shares”. This article observes: “The
median engagement rate per follower is 5.7%, according to our TikTok benchmark report. This rate is
12x more engaging than the next most engaging channel, Instagram.”.

EN 13 EN
 to connections and communication between users who are friends, family members,
or other real-life acquaintances, but refers to end users in general. In fact, as observed
in recitals (45) and (52) above, TikTok enables the forming of new social
interactions.
(56) Fourth, ByteDance’s reliance on recital (51) of the preamble to Regulation (EU)
2022/1925 to draw a distinction between the distribution of videos through a video-
sharing platform service and the display of information in the newsfeed which
allegedly characterises an online social networking service is misplaced. 55 That
recital does not explain that an online social networking service should have a
“newsfeed”, nor does the definition of an online social networking service laid down
in Article 2, point (7), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 make any reference to a
newsfeed as a condition for a service to fall within that definition. In addition, while
the existence of a newsfeed is not relevant for the qualification of TikTok as an
online social networking CPS under Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, it is noteworthy
that that Regulation does not define the term “newsfeed” and that a feed which
displays news in a video format, such as the one on the TikTok platform, may
therefore qualify as a “newsfeed”.
(57) Fifth, contrary to what ByteDance claims, 56 the existence of a ‘social graph’ is not a
pre-condition for a service to qualify as an online social networking service within
the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. While a ‘social graph’ may be used by
certain popular online social networking services, Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 does
not make any reference to that notion. This is consistent with the fact that there are
different ways in which online social networking services can be provided.
Moreover, ByteDance’s submission 57 indicates that there are no clear boundaries
between the notions of “social graph”, “content graph” or “interest graph”. Online
social networking services, including TikTok, appear to rely on a combination of
elements that may fall within any of these notions. 58 In addition, a service which
recommends content to users based on what their interests are can enable users to
form connections and communities based on their shared interests as revealed by
their engagement with the service, which corresponds to what TikTok enables
through the features listed in recitals (43) et seq.
(58) Sixth, contrary to what ByteDance claims, 59 TikTok also facilitates communication
and connection between business users and end users, as well as content discovery
and sharing across multiple devices, and in particular via chats, posts, videos, and
recommendations, with a view to enabling business users to grow their businesses
(e.g., via a variety of creative tools), scale their brand presence (e.g., via auto-
messaging and post scheduler), and drive sales with business-friendly features (e.g.,

55
See recital (31).
56
Form GD, paragraph 14.
57
See footnote 18 above.
58
See Form GD, paragraph 27 where ByteDance states: “As a result, TikTok is less reliant on the so-
called “social graph” associated with social networking”. This indicates that ByteDance does rely to
some extent on a social graph. See also for further explanation https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/how-
tiktok-recommends-videos-for-you last accessed 27 August 2023 where ByteDance states:
“Recommendations are based on a number of factors, including things like:” indicating that a number of
elements contribute to the creation of a graph.
59
Form GD, paragraph 14.

EN 14 EN
 via link-in-bio, business contact information, and lead generation tools). 60 For
example, TikTok allows business users to create branded hashtags, events and
participate in TikTok communities 61 which foster social interactions through user-
generated content, thus promoting active engagement between businesses and end
users. Furthermore, business users can use interactive features to get in direct contact
with end users through comments or direct chats.
(59) Seventh, contrary to what ByteDance claims, 62 the proportion of video views on
TikTok that relate to content shared between mutual followers is irrelevant for the
purposes of determining whether TikTok constitutes an online social networking
service, since following other users is just one of many ways in which users can
connect and communicate on TikTok. Moreover, while this in itself is not decisive
for determining whether TikTok constitutes an online social networking service, the
Commission observes that ByteDance has provided no evidence of […]. In any
event, even without these features and functionalities, TikTok would continue to
meet the definition of an online social networking service laid down in Article 2,
point (7), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
(60) Eighth, the research to which ByteDance refers 63 does not provide a sufficient basis
to demonstrate that TikTok is not an online social networking CPS within the
meaning of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. This is so for the reasons set out below.
(61) In the first place, the Commission understands, based on the limited information
provided by ByteDance, that, in the study on which ByteDance seeks to rely,
respondents were asked […], which may encompass services that can qualify as
either an online social networking service or a video-sharing platform service under
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. 64 That study is therefore not informative for the
purposes of assessing the features and functionalities which could differentiate
between the two categories of services that are at issue in the present case.
(62) In the second place, the description of TikTok in a selected extract from internal
research on which ByteDance seeks to rely 65 is not inconsistent with the qualification
of an online social networking service under Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. In
particular, the statement that “[…]” does not provide any indication of the degree of
users’ interactive behaviour on TikTok in the Union. It simply suggests that […]. In
this regard, the Commission observes that other evidence indicates, to the contrary, a
high user engagement on TikTok, as mentioned in recital (54) above.
(63) In the third place, ByteDance only provided very limited extracts from the relevant
studies and researches on which it seeks to rely. Such limited extracts do not support
the conclusion that ByteDance seeks to draw from them, since information on the
full scope and results, methodology, sample sizes and methods for selecting
participants is lacking for such a conclusion.

60
See https://www.tiktok.com/business/en/solutions/business-account and
https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/tiktok-business-account-features?lang=en last accessed on 9 August
2023.
61
https://www.tiktok.com/business/en/blog/communities-on-tiktok last accessed on 9 August 2023.
62
See recital (31) above.
63
Form GD, paragraphs 28 to 30 and Figures 4 and 5.
64
See the study referred to in Form GD, paragraph 29.
65
Form GD, Figure 5.

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 (64) Ninth, contrary to what ByteDance’s claims, 66 the fact that TikTok may share some
features and functionalities with services provided by other undertakings does not
mean that TikTok should automatically be considered to belong to the same CPS
category as those services. Differences between TikTok and those other services in
terms of functionalities other than video-sharing, may justify different
qualifications. 67
(65) Tenth, the market definition precedents from competition cases on which ByteDance
seeks to rely have no bearing on the qualification of a service as belonging to a
particular category of CPS under Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. As explained in recital
(14) above, this is because that Regulation pursues an objective that is different from
competition law and consciously departs from the concept of market definition. 68
Instead, Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 provides an exhaustive list of CPSs
which the legislator considered as particularly prone to certain types of market
failure. Accordingly, the definitions of CPSs laid down in the Regulation itself are
the only relevant standard to determine if a given service qualifies as a particular
type of CPS. As explained in detail in recitals (42) to (47) above, TikTok meets the
definition of an online social networking service as provided in Article 2, point (7),
of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. The notion of a ‘social media platform’ on which
ByteDance relies has, in contrast, no basis in Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. 69
(66) For the reasons set out above, the Commission concludes that TikTok constitutes an
online social networking service within the meaning Article 2, point (7), of
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 and therefore a CPS within the meaning of Article 2,
point (2), subpoint (c), of that Regulation.
5.1.2. Thresholds laid down in Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
5.1.2.1. Thresholds laid down in Article 3(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
5.1.2.1.1. The Undertaking’s view
(67) ByteDance indicates that its fair market value in the last financial year was estimated
at approximately EUR [>75 billion], so that it meets the threshold laid down in
Article 3(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. 70
(68) In addition, ByteDance indicates that it provides TikTok in all Member States. 71

66
See recital (36) above.
67
Those differences may include, for instance, the following. On TikTok, users need to create an account
and to log-in to view and upload videos. Moreover, TikTok focuses on a specific type of short,
ephemeral user-generated video content (up to 60 seconds long with an average length of 15 seconds),
as opposed to a wider offer of video content (including longer videos and programmes across all
industries, from large media producers, companies and major advertisers to cultural institutions and
amateur individuals including tutorials, long-form discussions, documentaries) that remain discoverable
for a longer period. TikTok also has a set of functionalities enabling social interactions as described in
recitals (45) to (51) above: for example, it enables users to share videos with other users via the chat
functionality, or to re-post videos on their feed, post photo and text-based content, etc. In addition,
TikTok also has elements of a social graph (see recital 57 above). Furthermore, TikTok provides users
with a wide range of built-in editing tools, filters, effects and music options to create engaging videos as
opposed to platforms for which creators often use external software for more advance editing.
68
See recitals 11 and 23 of the preamble of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 and paragraph 24 of the Impact
Assessment Report accompanying the Proposal for this regulation (SWD(2020) 363 final, Part 1).
69
Moreover, there appears to be different ways to interpret the term ‘social media platform’, some of
which suggest that this would be a broader category of services encompassing both online social
networking services and video-sharing platform services.
70
Form GD, paragraph 55.

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 5.1.2.1.2. The Commission’s assessment
(69) On the basis of the information provided by ByteDance, 72 the Commission considers
that ByteDance meets the fair market value threshold laid down in Article 3(2)(a) of
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, as well the requirement laid down in that provision that
the CPS at issue, i.e., TikTok, is offered in at least three Member States.
5.1.2.2. Thresholds laid down in Article 3(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
5.1.2.2.1. The Undertaking’s view
(i) Monthly active end users established or located in the Union
(70) ByteDance indicates that, irrespective of whether TikTok is considered a video-
sharing platform CPS or an online social networking CPS, TikTok meets the monthly
active end user threshold laid down in Article 3(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
ByteDance submits that TikTok had 125 million monthly active end users
established or located in the Union in the last financial year.
(ii) Yearly active business users established in the Union
(71) ByteDance indicates that, irrespective of whether TikTok is considered a video-
sharing platform CPS or an online social networking CPS, its TikTok CPS meets the
yearly active business user threshold laid down in Article 3(2)(b) of Regulation (EU)
2022/1925. ByteDance submits that the number of TikTok yearly active business
users established in the Union in the last financial year was [>10 000] (based on
registered business accounts) or [>10 000] (based on self-identified business
accounts).
5.1.2.2.2. The Commission’s assessment
(72) On the basis of the information provided by ByteDance, 73 the Commission considers
that ByteDance’s online social networking CPS TikTok meets the monthly active
end user threshold laid down in Article 3(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
(73) On the basis of the information provided by ByteDance, 74 the Commission considers
that ByteDance’s online social networking CPS TikTok meets the yearly active
business user threshold laid down in Article 3(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
5.1.2.3. Thresholds laid down in Article 3(2)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
5.1.2.3.1. The Undertaking’s view
(i) Monthly active end users established or located in the Union
(74) ByteDance indicates that if TikTok is considered a video-sharing platform CPS, it
has met the monthly active end user threshold laid down in Article 3(2)(b) of
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 for monthly active end users in each of the last three
financial years. Table 1 presents the number of average monthly active end users of
TikTok as a video-sharing platform CPS in the Union as submitted by ByteDance.

71
Form GD, paragraph 56.
72
Form GD, paragraphs 55 to 56.
73
In particular the figures provided in Table 7 of the Form GD.
74
Form GD, Table 13.

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 5.1.2.3.2. The Commission’s assessment
(i) Monthly active end users established or located in the Union in the last three
financial years
(81) The Commission does not agree with ByteDance’s submission that only […]% of
TikTok’s end users in the Union should be taken into account as end users of the
online social networking CPS TikTok. Indeed, this adjusted number of end users,
based on the proportion of users that engage with what ByteDance considers as
social interactions on TikTok, 86 is not in line with the notion of ‘active end user’ laid
down in Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. Section E of the Annex to that Regulation
defines ‘active end users’ of an online social networking CPS as any end users who
engage with the service by, for example, actively logging-in, opening a page,
scrolling, clicking, liking, making a query, posting or commenting, without any
further requirement that they should engage in the type of social interaction that
ByteDance has used as a benchmark to calculate TikTok’s adjusted number of end
users. Consequently, any active end user engaging with the video-sharing
functionality of TikTok must be considered an active end user of the online social
networking CPS TikTok. Consequently, the number of TikTok active end users in
the Union in the last three financial years comprises the full number of TikTok active
end users in the Union as presented by ByteDance and reflected in Table 1 above.
(82) Consequently, the Commission considers that ByteDance’s online social networking
CPS TikTok meets the requirement laid down in Article 3(2)(c) of Regulation (EU)
2022/1925 that the monthly active end user threshold laid down in Article 3(2)(b) of
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 was met in each of the last three financial years.
(ii) Yearly active business users established in the Union in the last three financial
years
(83) The Commission considers that TikTok’s methodology based on the number of
“registered business accounts” 87 as a proxy for determining the number of active
business users under Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 has several shortcomings, likely
represents a significant undercounting of TikTok’s actual number of yearly active
business users and is therefore unreliable. This is so for the following reasons.
(84) First, ByteDance only recently introduced the registration feature, making it
available in a limited number of Member States, including France and Germany in
April 2022 and in ten more Member States in November 2022. Due to the absence of
this feature in other Member States, the figures based on registered business accounts
are not representative of the actual number of business users of TikTok in the Union
in 2022, 2021 and 2020. Given its recent introduction, it is highly likely that many
business users located or established in the Union where the feature has been made
available may not have made use of it yet. Moreover, because the registration feature
remains unavailable in many Member States, relying on that feature would lead to
even more significant undercounting of the actual number of active business users.
(85) Second, the registration feature is voluntary, meaning that a significant number of
business users with existing accounts may not have undertaken the effort of
registering themselves since its recent introduction, especially since businesses do
not seem to have any incentive to do so.

86
Form GD, paragraph 64.
87
See recital (77) above.

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 (86) Third, the fact that TikTok’s methodology does not count content creators acting in a
professional capacity as business users, unless they have registered as a business
account, further exacerbates the undercounting of business users.
(87) Fourth, due to the registration feature only becoming available in 2022, the metric
based on registered business accounts would not capture business users in 2020 and
2021 that were no longer business users in 2022. 88
(88) In contrast to the number of registered business users, the Commission considers the
other metric provided by ByteDance, namely the number of self-identified business
accounts described in recital (80) above, to be a sufficiently reliable measure of
TikTok’s active yearly business users for the purposes of determining whether the
thresholds in Article 3(2)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 are met. Indeed, the self-
identification feature grants users access to business-specific functionalities, such as
performance insights, creative tools, and exclusive account options. 89 Those
functionalities are aimed squarely at businesses, making it likely that, at the very
least, a significant portion of self-identified business accounts are actual business
users. Furthermore, as stated by ByteDance, 90 the self-identification feature enables
users to grow their businesses, scale their brand presence, and drive sales with
business-friendly features. In addition, ByteDance also explains that business
accounts are public profiles that allow brands and businesses to use TikTok’s
marketing tools to build a cohesive marketing strategy on TikTok. This is evident
from TikTok’s communication on the business features. 91 Moreover, TikTok’s terms
of use require that users engaging in business activities self-identify as business users
to access specialised tools and features tailored to support their activities. 92
(89) As follows from the data summarised in Table 3 above, when considering self-
identified EU business accounts, TikTok exceeds the threshold of 10 000 business
users for the last three financial years by a large margin, under both alternative
counting methods relied on by ByteDance (see Table 3 above, second and third
columns). Therefore, even though the number of self-identified business accounts in
Table 3 may overestimate, to a certain extent, the actual number of yearly active
business users, the number so greatly exceeds 10 000 that it forms a sufficiently solid
basis to conclude that the yearly actual business user threshold was met in 2020,
2021 and 2022. By way of illustration: even when using the more conservative
counting method in the second column of Table 3 (which results in approximately

88
According to ByteDance’s Form GD, Table 20 and footnote 92, a total of as many as [>10 000]business
accounts made use of the registration feature and were active on the TikTok platform in 2022 in France
and Germany (as of April 2022) and in Austria, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Spain and Sweden (as of November 2022), the majority of which were users that signed up to
the service for the first time in 2022. In the Commission’s view, this further corroborates the finding
that there were at least 10 000 business users also in 2021 and 2020.
89
See https://www.tiktok.com/business/en/solutions/business-account and
https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/tiktok-business-account-features?lang=en last accessed on 9 August
2023.
90
See https://www.tiktok.com/business/en/solutions/business-account last accessed on 9 August 2023.
91
See, for example, https://www.tiktok.com/business/en/solutions/business-account and
https://support.tiktok.com/en/using-tiktok/growing-your-audience/switching-to-a-creator-or-business-
account, last accessed on 9 August 2023.
92
See Section 6 of TikTok’s EEA Business Terms: “Where you use your account primarily for Business
Purposes, you agree that you will at all times use a TikTok account type designated for commercial or
business use (a “Business Account”)”. https://www.tiktok.com/legal/page/global/business-terms-eea/en
last updated in August 2023 and last accessed on 9 August 2023.

EN 21 EN
 [>10 000] self-identified business users in 2020), TikTok would meet the business
user thresholds laid down in Article 3(2)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 even if
just [a small percentage] of those users were considered to be actual active business
users established in the Union. In other words, even if, as argued by ByteDance, part
of TikTok’s self-identified business accounts do not actually correspond to users
acting in a professional or commercial capacity, it is highly unlikely that this could
be the case for [a majority] or more of TikTok’s self-identified business accounts. 93
(90) Finally, ByteDance offered no other reliable alternative measure of business users
showing that TikTok did not meet the relevant business user threshold. Although
TikTok provided a survey purportedly showing that only […]% of respondents knew
that they had set up a business account, 94 this survey does not support TikTok’s
claim that it has fewer than 10 000 business users, and may rather confirm the
conclusion that TikTok meets the business user threshold. This is so for the
following reasons.
(91) First, the survey is not representative, […], a sample that is far too small and not
geographically representative to generate meaningful results. As such, it cannot be
considered reliable for determining whether self-identified business accounts can be
considered as business users.
(92) Second, even assuming that the survey were reliable (quod non), it rather appears to
support the opposite conclusion, namely that TikTok has more than 10 000 business
users:
(a) When applying the […]% figure (representing the percentage of respondents
that confirmed they are aware that they have a business account) to the number
of TikTok self-identified business accounts presented in Table 3 above, this
results in more than [>10 000] business accounts in 2022, and, consequently,
the business user threshold of 10 000 would still be greatly exceeded.
(b) The survey showed that […]% of respondents use TikTok’s paid Promote 95
feature frequently, which is a strong indicator that at least these respondents are
genuine business users. When applying this percentage to the number of self-
identified business accounts presented in Table 3, this results in more than [>10
000] business accounts in 2022, and, consequently, the business user threshold
of 10 000 is once again still exceeded by a large margin.

93
In addition, the Commission notes that even the category of self-identified business accounts does not
appear to include all of TikTok’s business users within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
Indeed, it appears that TikTok’s Creator Next Program incentivises creators that are active in a
professional capacity to keep personal accounts rather than change to a business account because
several monetisation features that are available within the Creator Next Program do not appear to be
available to business accounts. These monetisation features of the Creator Next Program for which only
personal accounts appear to be eligible include TikTok Creator Marketplace, the official collaboration
platform to connect brands and creators on TikTok through which creators can collaborate with brands
on paid campaigns, as well as the TikTok Creator Fund, that rewards creators with at least 10 000
followers that regularly post content on TikTok, see TikTok’s website
https://support.tiktok.com/en/using-tiktok/growing-your-audience/switching-to-a-creator-or-business-
account last accessed on 31 August 2023.
94
See recital (72) above.
95
Promote is an advertising tool you can use in the TikTok app that allows you to pay to get more people
to discover your videos, guide more people to your website, and improve your chances to gain
followers. This means that your video will be displayed as an ad for the time that you promote your
video.

EN 22 EN
 (93) For the reasons set out above, the Commission considers that the number of self-
identified business accounts is the most reliable metric put forward by ByteDance
and should therefore be used for the purpose of determining the number of TikTok’s
active business users under Article 3(2)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
Consequently, the Commission considers that the number of TikTok yearly active
business users exceeded the threshold laid down in Article 3(2)(b) of the Regulation
(EU) 2022/1925 in each of the last three financial years.
(iii) Conclusion
(94) For the reasons set out above, the Commission concludes that the online social
networking CPS TikTok meets the requirement laid down in Article 3(2)(c)
ofRegulation (EU) 2022/1925 that the monthly active end user and the yearly active
business user thresholds laid down in Article 3(2)(b) of that Regulation were met in
each of the last three financial years.
(95) It is not necessary for the Commission to assess further whether ByteDance’s
approach to identifying and estimating monthly active end users and yearly business
users of its TikTok CPS is sufficiently inclusive in line with the relevant definition in
Section E of the Annex to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, since the Commission’s
assessment of the information provided by ByteDance as set out in recitals (72) to
(73) and (81) to (93) indicate that the relevant thresholds are met.
5.1.3. Arguments pursuant to Article 3(5) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
5.1.3.1. The Undertaking’s view
(96) Together with its notification, ByteDance presented arguments pursuant to
Article 3(5), first subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 aimed at
demonstrating that, even if it were to meet all the thresholds laid down in Article 3(2)
of that Regulation in relation to TikTok, it exceptionally would not satisfy the
requirements listed in Article 3(1) of that Regulation due to the circumstances in
which TikTok operates. 96 ByteDance also submitted its views on how to interpret the
legal framework for the analysis of rebuttal arguments under Article 3(5) of
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. 97
5.1.3.1.1. Arguments seeking to rebut the presumption laid down in Article 3(2)(a) of
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
(97) ByteDance puts forward the following arguments that, in its view, rebut the
presumption stemming from Article 3(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. 98
(98) First, ByteDance argues that its Union revenue is […] below the thresholds laid
down in Article 3(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 (being EUR [<7,5 billion] in
2020, EUR [<7,5 billion] in 2021, and EUR [<7,5 billion] in 2022). 99 ByteDance
also claims that its Union advertising revenues are mainly […]. 100
(99) Second, ByteDance asserts that TikTok […] continues to build its customer base.
ByteDance further claims that it is investing, in particular, in promoting its

96
Form GD, Annex 4.
97
Form GD, Annex 11.
98
Form GD, Annex 4, points 31-36.
99
Form GD, Annex 4, points 31-32.
100
Form GD, Annex 4, point 33.

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 advertising monetisation model and incentivising creators to make content for
TikTok. 101
(100) Third, ByteDance argues that it only meets the presumption laid down in
Article 3(2)(a), of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 on the basis of its global fair market
value, which is driven by its China-focused business. According to ByteDance, that
business has no connection to the Union, faces very different competitive dynamics,
and operates in a distinct regulatory, linguistic, and cultural environment. Therefore,
in ByteDance’s view, the global fair market value is not indicative of TikTok’s
current or potential future ability to monetise users in the Union. 102 According to
ByteDance, its global market value was recently estimated by the press at [> EUR
75] billion. 103 If that were translated into Union market value, with TikTok being
ByteDance’s only meaningful activity in the Union and representing only […]% of
total revenues, this would equate to a Union market value of EUR [<75] billion,
which is […] below the threshold laid down in Article 3(2)(a) of Regulation (EU)
2022/1925. 104
5.1.3.1.2. Arguments seeking to rebut the presumption laid down in Article 3(2)(b) of
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
(101) ByteDance puts forward the following arguments that, in its view, rebut the
presumption stemming from Article 3(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. 105
(102) First, ByteDance argues that TikTok does not have an ecosystem that it could
leverage and does not benefit from any significant network effects to lock in
consumers and businesses. 106 According to ByteDance, Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
is intended to prevent improper ecosystem leverage by incumbents. 107 It submits that,
unlike such incumbents that can sell advertising against their ecosystems, TikTok
lacks the ability to set conditions and terms in a unilateral and detrimental manner for
advertisers, which is reflected in the lower prices that TikTok can demand when
compared to such incumbents. 108 TikTok also argues that it primarily operates based
on a so-called “content graph” rather than a “social graph”, which would lead to less
loyalty among users because they would not be building an online profile based on
their contacts. 109 ByteDance claims that social connections between TikTok users are
fairly indirect and relatively little used 110 and, as such, lack the sort of stickiness and
network effects that give rise to social networking “lock-in”.
(103) Second, ByteDance argues that multi-homing by TikTok business users and end
users demonstrates the absence of lock-in effects. 111 According to its estimates,
TikTok accounts for only around […]% of digital ad spend in different EU regions,
while incumbents such as Alphabet and Meta account for approximately […]% of
101
Form GD, Annex 4, point 34.
102
Form GD, Annex 4, point 35.
103
Form GD, Annex 5, point 7 with footnote.
104
Form GD, Annex 4, point 36.
105
Form GD, Annex 4, points 37-70.
106
Form GD, Annex 4, points 37-40.
107
Form GD, Annex 4, point 38.
108
Form GD, Annex 4, point 39, as further laid out in ByteDance’s 2 August 2023 reply, paragraph 24.
109
Form GD, Annex 4, points 3, 5-12 and 40, as further laid out in ByteDance’s 2 August 2023 reply,
paragraph 46.
110
Form GD, Annex 4, point 7-8, as further laid out in ByteDance’s 2 August 2023 reply, paragraph 10.
111
Form GD, Annex 4, points 41-46, as further laid out in ByteDance’s 2 August 2023 reply, paragraphs
26-28.

EN 24 EN
 total Union ad spend. 112 Moreover, ByteDance refers to internal analysis to claim
that content creators also multi-home (e.g. around […]% of creators used both
Instagram Reels and TikTok and around […]% YouTube Shorts and TikTok). 113
ByteDance submits that TikTok end users also multi-home strongly, and
asymmetrically, in the Union ([…]% of TikTok’s users also use YouTube and
Instagram, […]% also use Facebook, […]% also use Snapchat, and […]% also use X
(formerly Twitter), while Meta’s end users multi-home more significantly within the
Meta ecosystem). 114 According to ByteDance, such levels of multi-homing run
contrary to a gatekeeper designation under Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
(104) Third, ByteDance argues that, as a “challenger”, it invests in interoperability and
facilitates multi-homing. 115 To that end, it has created several possibilities for
TikTok’s user base to repost and cross-post content on other services or allowed
linking accounts by other services to TikTok accounts.
(105) Fourth, ByteDance describes TikTok as a challenger in the Union compared to
ecosystem incumbents against which it must compete for advertising. Indeed,
TikTok’s business in the Union is small compared to those incumbents, as evidenced
by revenues, monthly active users in the Union, and average revenue per user
(“ARPU”). 116
(106) Fifth, ByteDance asserts that most of its advertisers and registered business users
have […]. 117 […]% of TikTok’s advertisers in 2022 spent EUR […] or less on
advertising on the platform and only […] Union-based advertisers spent in excess of
EUR […] on TikTok advertising in 2022. 118
(107) Sixth, ByteDance stresses that it faces a large number of competitors (including
incumbent ecosystems) both in advertising and video sharing. 119 On the advertising
as well as on the end user side, it argues that other services are far more important
than TikTok. These other services have also started to emulate TikTok, resulting in a
fiercely competitive dynamic, including from entertainment services more generally.
(108) Seventh, ByteDance submits that TikTok has limited social networking offering for
business users to reach end users and explains that its offering for business users is
[…] compared to its competitors and it only started developing relevant offerings for
business users recently. 120

112
Form GD, Annex 4, points 42, 64; and Annex 8.
113
Form GD, Annex 4, point 44, citing TikTok Internal Document, […], November 2022.
114
Form GD, Annex 4, point 45, as further laid out in ByteDance’s 2 August 2023 reply, paragraphs 43-
45.
115
Form GD, Annex 4, points 47-52, as further laid out in ByteDance’s 2 August 2023 reply, paragraph
37.
116
Form GD, Annex 4, point 53. In Europe, (i) TikTok’s revenues represented approximately […]% of
those of Meta, and […]% of those of YouTube; (ii) TikTok’s 125 million monthly active users in the
Union represent […]% of Facebook’s EU user base, […]% of Instagram’s Union user base, and […]%
of YouTube’s Union user base, and; (iii) TikTok’s ARPU in Europe (EUR […]) is […] than that of
YouTube (EUR […]), Instagram (EUR […]), and Facebook (EUR […])).
117
Form GD, Annex 4, points 54-62.
118
Form GD, Annex 4, point 60.
119
Form GD, Annex 4, points 63-69, as further laid out in ByteDance’s 2 August 2023 reply, paragraphs
32-34.
120
Form GD, Annex 4, points 13-18; ByteDance’s 2 August 2023 reply, paragraphs 40-42.

EN 25 EN
 5.1.3.1.3. Arguments seeking to rebut the presumption laid down in Article 3(2)(c) of
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
(109) ByteDance claims that it is not a gatekeeper under Article 3(1)(c) of Regulation (EU)
2022/1925, because it does not enjoy an entrenched and durable position in its
operations for the reasons set out below. 121
(110) First, according to ByteDance, TikTok has no advantages that place it in an
“unassailable” position within the meaning of recital (21) of the preamble to
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, since it has no advantages that would allow it to create
the entrenched and durable position of certain incumbent ecosystems, identified by
ByteDance as Meta and Alphabet. 122 ByteDance submits that it operates a single
service in the Union without any ability to leverage its position across services. In
contrast, incumbent rivals entrench their positions across different online services by
leveraging their far superior user bases. According to ByteDance, TikTok’s position
has been assailed by incumbent ecosystems introducing features emulating those
offered by TikTok, and leveraging their large user bases to almost instantly develop a
user base for their new services that took TikTok years to develop. 123 This
phenomenon is shown by TikTok’s […], namely Meta’s Instagram and Alphabet’s
YouTube, gained a substantial user base in a short period of time by leveraging their
pre-existing user base). […] Instagram ‘Reels’ and YouTube ‘Shorts’ would make it
even less likely for TikTok to have an entrenched position in the future. 124
(111) Second, ByteDance argues that TikTok is a recent entrant and challenger of several
established ecosystems. 125 ByteDance submits that, as a challenger, TikTok cannot
be considered to have an entrenched or durable position in the Union, i.e., that
‘challenger’ and ‘gatekeepers’ are mutually exclusive positions. Unlike in the case of
Meta and YouTube users, who multi-home less vis-à-vis TikTok, […] show that, for
both TikTok business users and end users, switching costs are low and they are not
locked into TikTok’s ecosystem. In contrast, other incumbent platforms benefit from
offering other applications (e.g., Meta’s Reels and display ads on Facebook), which
creates a one-stop-shop ecosystem for advertising. TikTok, which has narrower
offerings, has incentives to facilitate interoperability in order to attract incumbents’
users to its platform.
5.1.3.1.4. Additional arguments seeking to rebut the presumption laid down in Article
3(2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
(112) ByteDance submits additional arguments that, in its view, would render a designation
of TikTok as a gatekeeper contrary to the policy intent of Regulation (EU)
2022/1925. 126
(113) First, ByteDance submits that an effective application of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
should aim at curbing certain conduct by dominant firms to level the playing field for

121
Form GD, Annex 4, points 71-82; as further laid out in ByteDance’s 2 August 2023 reply, paragraphs
35-38, and 47.
122
Form GD, Annex 4, points 72-77.
123
Form GD, Annex 4, point 72; as further laid out in ByteDance’s 2 August 2023 reply, paragraph 47.
124
Form GD, Annex 4, point 74.
125
Form GD, Annex 4, points 78-82.
126
Form GD, Annex 4, points 83-85; as further laid out in ByteDance’s 2 August 2023 reply, paragraphs
1-4.

EN 26 EN
 challengers such as TikTok. 127 ByteDance argues that adopting this approach should:
(i) […]; (ii) reduce incumbents’ ability to leverage their powerful ecosystems,
including the requirement to seek end user consent or separate user data between
different services; (iii) prohibit self-preferencing, […]; and (iv) lower barriers to
switch between competing services.
(114) Second, ByteDance further submits that its designation as a gatekeeper under
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 […]. 128
(115) Third, according to ByteDance, its designation as a gatekeeper at this stage of
TikTok’s development in the Union would impose a significant compliance cost on
an already […] challenger and, as a consequence, […]. 129
(116) Fourth, ByteDance claims, in response to the preliminary views set out in the
Commission’s letter of 26 July 2023, that the Commission fails to apply correctly the
substantive and procedural legal framework as provided for in Article 3(5) of
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. 130
(117) In the first place, ByteDance claims that the test which the Commission intends to
apply interprets Article 3(5) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 and recital (23) of the
preamble to that Regulation too narrowly and conservatively, thereby depriving the
rebuttal process of its role of taking out false positives. 131
(118) In the second place, according to ByteDance, the unique and exceptional
circumstances in which TikTok operates were wrongly labelled as irrelevant by the
Commission, while the Commission never informed ByteDance of those
circumstances which would be deemed relevant. ByteDance considers that the
Commission is foreclosing the rebuttal process and denying it its rights under the
law. 132
(119) In the third place, ByteDance states that the Commission’s preliminary assessment of
its rebuttal arguments breaches the principles of proportionality and sound
administration as its arguments would in ByteDance’s view require the Commission
to open a market investigation under Article 3(5), subparagraph 3, in combination
with Article 17(3) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. 133
5.1.3.2. The Commission’s assessment
5.1.3.2.1. Assessment of the arguments seeking to rebut the presumption laid down in
Article 3(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
(120) The Commission considers that the arguments submitted by ByteDance pursuant to
Article 3(5), first subparagraph of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, are not sufficiently

127
Form GD, Annex 4, points 83-84.
128
Form GD, Annex 4, point 85.
129
Form GD, Annex 4, point 85.
130
ByteDance’s 2 August 2023 reply, paragraphs 5, 7, 13-39; and as further reiterated during a meeting
between the Commission and ByteDance on 17 August 2023.
131
ByteDance’s 2 August 2023 reply, paragraph 16; and as further reiterated during a meeting between the
Commission and ByteDance on 17 August 2023.
132
ByteDance’s 2 August 2023 reply, paragraph 16; and as further reiterated during a meeting between the
Commission and ByteDance on 17 August 2023.
133
ByteDance’s 2 August 2023 reply, paragraph 17; and as further reiterated during a meeting between the
Commission and ByteDance on 17 August 2023.

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 substantiated so as to manifestly call into question the presumption set out in
Article 3(2)(a) of that Regulation.
(121) First, the fact that ByteDance’s Union revenue is below the Union turnover threshold
laid down in Article 3(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 134 is irrelevant, since the
thresholds relating to turnover, market capitalisation, and fair market value referred
to in Article 3(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 are alternative thresholds, as
opposed to cumulative conditions. In this context, ByteDance acknowledges that its
fair market value is significantly above the threshold value of EUR 75 billion.
Furthermore, the level of ByteDance’s Union revenue is not an element related to the
impact on the internal market “beyond revenue or market cap”, as follows from
recital (23) of the preamble to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
(122) Similarly, ByteDance’s submissions concerning the origin of ByteDance’s
advertising turnover in the Union 135 are irrelevant, since the fair market value
threshold is met. Furthermore, the portion of the turnover allocated to a specific CPS
is not relevant when assessing whether the condition laid down in Article 3(1)(a) of
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 is met. It is rather the turnover in relation to the
undertaking as a whole that is relevant in order to approximate its impact on the
internal market. As indicated in recital (17) of the preamble to Regulation (EU)
2022/1925, “the fact that an undertaking has a very significant turnover in the Union
and provides a core platform service in at least three Member States constitutes
compelling indication that that undertaking has a significant impact on the internal
market. This is equally true where an undertaking providing a core platform service
in at least three Member States has a very significant market capitalisation or
equivalent fair market value.”
(123) Second, whether a particular CPS […] in the Union to build out its customer base 136
cannot, as such, manifestly call into question the presumption laid down in Article
3(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. As explained in recital (17) of the preamble
to that Regulation, the market capitalisation/fair market value threshold, in
conjunction with the threshold on the number of active users in the Union, reflects a
relatively significant potential to monetise those users in the near future and, in turn,
that monetisation potential reflects, in principle, the gateway position of the
undertaking concerned. Recital (17) of the preamble of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
further clarifies that a high global fair market value also reflects the financial
capacity of the undertakings concerned, including their ability to leverage their
access to financial markets to reinforce their position. In view of ByteDance’s level
of fair market value, which is significantly above the threshold laid down in Article
3(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, and of its number of end users and business
users in the Union, 137 which exceed the user thresholds laid down in Article 3(2)(a)
of that Regulation, ByteDance’s argument is not capable of disproving its significant
potential to monetise users in the Union in the near future. That potential is, in
particular, not called into question by the fact that TikTok has been […] to build its
customer base.

134
Form GD, Annex 4, points 31-32.
135
Form GD, Annex 4, points 31, 33.
136
Form GD, Annex 4, point 34.
137
See above Table 1, Table 2 and Table 3.

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 (124) Third, ByteDance’s argument that its global fair market value is not indicative of its
ability to monetise TikTok’s users in the Union, since it stems from its Chinese
operations, 138 is irrelevant. Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 clearly refers to the fair
market value of the undertaking as a whole and not in relation to a specific
geography. Moreover, that argument stands in direct contradiction with Article
3(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, which, as explained in recital (17) of the
preamble to that Regulation, is aimed at capturing the financial capacity of the
undertaking concerned, including its access to financial markets and the resulting
ability, for example, to acquire other, innovative undertakings providing similar
services.
5.1.3.2.2. Assessment of the arguments seeking to rebut the presumption laid down in
Article 3(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
(125) The Commission considers that the arguments submitted by ByteDance pursuant to
Article 3(5), first subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 are not sufficiently
substantiated to manifestly call into question the presumption set out in
Article 3(2)(b) of that Regulation.
(126) As a general point applicable to all of ByteDance’s arguments assessed below, the
Commission notes that, in terms of absolute scale, TikTok exceeds the end user and
the business user thresholds laid down in Article 3(2)(b) of Regulation (EU)
2022/1925 by a significant margin (i.e. 125 million end users and [>10 000] business
users in 2022). 139 The Commission recalls that it is incumbent on an undertaking
seeking to rebut the presumptions laid down in Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU)
2022/1925 to produce convincing evidence that, even if its CPS exceeds the
thresholds laid down in that provision by such a margin, that CPS is not an important
gateway within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. 140 The
Commission considers, for the reasons set out in recitals (127) to (154) below, that
ByteDance has failed to adduce such evidence.
(i) Alleged lack of an ecosystem and of significant network effects
(127) As a preliminary matter, ByteDance’s argument that, contrary to other undertakings
operating online platforms, such as Meta or Alphabet, it lacks a wider ecosystem
which it could leverage or significant network effects to lock in consumers and
businesses 141 relates to the ability of such incumbents to sell advertising on the
strength of their ecosystems. However, the present assessment relates to ByteDance’s
online social networking CPS TikTok, not its online advertising service, which
belongs to a distinct category of CPS under Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
(128) Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 provides that online advertising services
constitute a distinct category of CPS. Recital (32) of the preamble to that Regulation
specifies that, in its assessment of the evidence and arguments produced by an
undertaking to rebut the presumptions laid down in Article 3(2) of that Regulation,
the Commission should take into account inter alia the importance of the
undertaking’s CPSs considering the overall scale of activities of the respective CPS.
In the present case, therefore, the pertinent comparison is between the scale of

138
Form GD, Annex 4, points 35-36.
139
See Section 5.1.2.3 above.
140
See recital (23) of the preamble to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
141
See recital (102) above.

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 ByteDance’s online social networking service TikTok and that of other providers of
similar services, irrespective of the scale of their online advertising activities.
(129) Consequently, it is irrelevant for the purposes of ByteDance’s own gateway position
whether other undertakings have ecosystems and are vertically integrated and, as a
result, might have advantages on the advertising side. In any event, ByteDance’s
argument does not manifestly call into question the presumption set out in
Article 3(2)(b) of that Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 for the following reasons.
(130) First, contrary to ByteDance’s view, 142 nothing in Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
suggests that having an ecosystem is an absolute pre-requisite to be an important
gateway for business users to reach end users. The existence of vertical integration
and of an ecosystem of different services are part of a non-exhaustive list of several
elements referred to in recitals (2) and (3) of the preamble to Regulation (EU)
2022/1925 which contribute to explaining the reasons why the legislators laid down
the conditions under which certain CPSs constitute an important gateway for
business users to reach end users. Recital (3) of that Regulation, in particular, states
that “[s]ome of those undertakings exercise control over whole platform ecosystems
[…]”, which makes clear that not all gatekeepers have such control over an entire
ecosystem of services in the Union. Moreover, the very notion of an “ecosystem”
comprises various business models and therefore each ecosystem needs to be
assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking account of the various benefits or the lack
thereof derived from such way of operating, in particular those that may impact
contestability.
(131) Moreover, Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 explicitly acknowledges, in recital (32) of its
preamble, the possibility that more than one gatekeeper may exist within a specific
CPS category. Nothing in that Regulation suggests that the mere fact that certain
gatekeepers might possibly be capable of monetising a service better than other
gatekeepers would mean that the latter would no longer be an important gateway for
business users (which in the case of TikTok are not the advertisers as such, but rather
professional content providers) to reach end users in that CPS category.
(132) Second, the Commission finds that ByteDance does in fact operate its own
ecosystem consisting of highly popular video-editing services, enterprise software,
advertising, news, and healthcare applications. 143 While the Commission does not
contest ByteDance’s assertion that its attempts to export additional services outside
China may not have always been successful, 144 the Commission notes that some of
ByteDance’s services have nevertheless had remarkable success, including in the
Union. 145

142
The Commission’s letter of 26 July 2023, subpoint (a).
143
TikTok is a separate, internationalised version of ByteDance’s Douyin service, which was released on
the Chinese market in September 2016, see, for instance, Catherine Shu “TikTok, WeChat and the
growing digital divide between the US and China” (22 September 2020) last accessed on 9 August 2023
and “TikTok, Hospitals And Tutoring Apps: The Many Tentacles Of Chinese Tech Giant ByteDance”
(forbes.com) (24 August 2022) last accessed on 10 August 2023.
144
Form GD, Annex 4, fn. 37.
145
For instance, ByteDance’s video-editing app CapCut was reportedly the fourth most downloaded app
worldwide in 2022, with TikTok defending the top spot with 672 million downloads, see John Koetsier,
“10 Most Downloaded Apps Of 2022: Facebook Down, Spotify Up, TikTok Stable, CapCut Keeps
Growing,” last accessed on 27 August 2023.

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 (133) Third, and in any event, as mentioned in Table 1 above, TikTok managed to increase
its end user numbers from [>45] million in 2020 to 125 million in 2022, and it
already accounts for half the size of Facebook and Instagram, despite not having an
ecosystem the size of Meta.
(ii) Alleged multi-homing and absence of lock-in
(134) With respect to ByteDance’s argument in relation to the prevalence of multi-
homing, 146 the Commission does not dispute that there may indeed be a certain
degree of multi-homing by end and business users between TikTok and other online
social networks. However, this fact is insufficient to manifestly call into question the
presumption laid down in Article 3(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
(135) First, contrary to ByteDance’s assertion, while the absence of multi-homing may be a
relevant element to assess the existence of a gateway position, the existence of multi-
homing is not in itself an indication that a CPS does not constitute an important
gateway for business users to reach end users within the meaning of Regulation (EU)
2022/1925. Indeed, the lack of multi-homing is just one of multiple elements referred
to in recitals (2) and (3) of the preamble to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 as
characteristics that can be exploited by undertakings providing CPSs. Moreover, the
relevance of the lack of multi-homing as a possible element to assess the existence of
a gateway position may vary across different categories of CPSs and even within an
individual category of CPS.
(136) Similarly, contrary to ByteDance’s claim, 147 recital (13) of the preamble to
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 does not state or suggest that “extensive user multi-
homing demonstrates a manifest absence of lock-in”. Recital (13) rather lists, in a
non-exhaustive manner (“in particular”), some of the scenarios in which weak
contestability and unfair practices are more frequent and pronounced in relation to
digital services that mostly directly intermediate between business users and end
users. These scenarios are alternative reasons that led the legislator to regulate
gatekeepers, as the use of “or” in the second sentence of recital (13) makes clear.
Therefore, the fact that there is (some degree of) multi-homing does not preclude the
possibility of weak contestability and unfair practices that Regulation (EU)
2022/1925 aims to address.
(137) Second, parallel use of different services does not imply equal use, and both business
and end users can (and do) use one online social networking service asymmetrically
to others they are active upon. In particular, multi-homing business users may adjust
and tailor their content to the specific algorithm of the online social networking
service to which they target the majority of their business or activity.
(138) Consequently, as regards ByteDance’s examples of multi-homing by TikTok content
creators (which may include end and business users of TikTok, see recital (86)
above), 148 the mere fact that such content creators multi-home and […] creates
content exclusively for TikTok is insufficient to rebut the presumption stemming
from Article 3(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925(135). The fact that content
creators are present on different online social networking platforms does not give any
indication of the relevance of each platform for business users in reaching end users.

146
See recital (103)(103) above.
147
Form GD, Annex 4, points 43-46.
148
Form GD, Annex 4, points 43-46.

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 In particular, the degree of use of each platform might well be asymmetrical, e.g.,
with content creators mostly active on TikTok providing limited content on other
platforms as “advertisement” for their main platform. Indeed, content creators have
an incentive to increase their exposure to as wide an audience as possible and
therefore multi-homing is an expected outcome, notwithstanding the fact that the
different platforms may not be equally relevant to them. Moreover, to the extent that
content creators focus most of their activities on one of the platforms on which they
multi-home, this means that switching the focus of their activities from one platform
to another one may still entail some switching costs, such as those associated with
building an audience or adjusting content to the format and algorithm of different
platforms.
(139) In any event, even if some end or business users were similarly active on various
online social networking services (which ByteDance does not demonstrate) does not
mean that a specific online social networking service is not, individually, a gateway
for business users to reach end users (e.g., certain end user demographics).
(140) Third, ByteDance’s comparison of digital ad spend on TikTok, Alphabet and Meta
properties to support its claim of multi-homing by TikTok business users 149 does not
concern its online social networking CPS, but its online advertising service, for
which the definition of active business users does not refer to advertisers. 150 For the
reasons explained in recitals (127) to (129) above, such a comparison cannot rebut
the presumption stemming from Article 3(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 in
relation to that CPS.
(141) Fourth, as concerns the multi-homing overview provided by ByteDance indicating
that […]% of TikTok users also use Instagram and […]% of TikTok users also use
Facebook, 151 the Commission notes that the evidentiary value of these figures for the
purpose of establishing whether TikTok’s presumed gateway position in the context
of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 has been rebutted is limited. This is because Facebook
and Instagram have a larger number of end users in the Union (with around 250
million each, about double the number of TikTok with 125 million) and were active
in the Union before TikTok. Statistically, it can therefore be expected that there is a
large number of Facebook and Instagram users that also use TikTok. Moreover, these
figures fail to reflect the intensity of use of the various online social networks.
Indeed, it has been repeatedly reported that TikTok has a significantly higher
engagement rate than other online social networking services, with end users
spending significantly more time on TikTok as compared to other online social
networking services. 152 This is particularly the case for younger end users. 153
(142) Finally, ByteDance’s argument that TikTok, as a challenger, invests in
interoperability and in facilitating multi-homing is made in support of ByteDance’s

149
Recital (103) above.
150
See the table in Section E of the Annex to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
151
Form GD, Annex 4, point 45 and Figure 5.
152
See, e.g., Chris Stokel-Walker, “How TikTok beat Instagram” (2 February 2023), available under
https://www.businessinsider.com/why-instagram-cant-compete-tiktok-videos-algorithm-influencers-
engagement-2023-2?r=US&IR=T last accessed on 9 August 2023; Brandon Doyle, “TikTok Statistics –
Update August 2023” (7 August 2023), available at https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-
media/tiktok-statistics/ last accessed on 9 August 2023.
153
Brandon Doyle, “TikTok Statistics – Update August 2023” (7 August 2023), available at
https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-statistics/ accessed on 9 August 2023.

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 argument regarding multi-homing in general and is therefore to be rejected for the
same considerations as those provided above.
(iii) TikTok’s alleged smaller scale compared to incumbents
(143) ByteDance’s argument that TikTok’s business in the Union is smaller than that of
ecosystem incumbents, in terms of revenues, monthly active users, and ARPU, also
does not manifestly call into question the presumption laid down in Article 3(2)(b) of
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
(144) First, as regards revenues as well as ARPU, ByteDance’s argument appears to refer
to advertising revenues. As already explained recitals (127) to (129) above,
arguments to rebut the presumption that the online social network CPS TikTok is an
important gateway should relate to that service, not another service which ByteDance
provides. In any event, advertisers are not the relevant business users of an online
social networking service according to Section E of the Annex to that Regulation and
thus advertising revenues are not a relevant element in this context.
(145) In addition, the relative scale measured based on revenues and/or ARPU is not a
good indicator to assess whether a particular CPS is an important gateway because,
firstly, different business models monetise differently, and, secondly, the revenues
themselves in isolation from other factors do not constitute a good indicator of a
gateway position. For this reason, market capitalisation was chosen as the relevant
threshold in line with the Union legislator’s intention to capture the financial
capacity of the undertaking concerned.
(146) Second, as regards the relative size of the different online social networks with
respect to end users, the Commission recalls 154 that TikTok’s absolute scale in terms
of business and end user numbers significantly exceed the thresholds laid down in
Article 3(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. The data provided by ByteDance
indicate that TikTok is not small in terms of relative scale. It is roughly half the size
of Facebook and Instagram. The mere fact of being smaller in size than other
providers of CPSs is insufficient on its own to rebut the presumption laid down in
Article 3(2)(b). Moreover, TikTok’s monthly end users in the Union have been
growing in recent years despite the presence of the services of Meta and Alphabet:
from [>45] million in 2020 to 125 million in 2022. Moreover, as mentioned in recital
(141) above, TikTok has a much higher end user engagement than some of its
peers, 155 particularly among younger users.
(iv) Advertisers’ and registered business users’ alleged […] engagement
(147) ByteDance’s argument relating to the percentage of advertisers that have […]
engagement on the online social networking CPS TikTok is irrelevant for the
purpose of rebutting the presumption laid down in Article 3(2)(b) of Regulation (EU)
2022/1925 in relation to the qualification of that CPS as an important gateway, since
advertisers are not the relevant business users of online social networking services.
(148) In any event, while the Commission does not deny that certain advertisers on TikTok
specifically, and on online social networking services more generally, may also meet

154
See recital (126) above.
155
See “TikTok’s engagement rate soars above the competition | Marketing Dive”, 23 February 2023, last
accessed on 9 August 2023, as well as “Did you Know TikTok Users Are the Most Engaged?”
(iconosquare.com) last accessed on 9 August 2023, and “37 Vital TikTok Stats to Inform Your
Marketing Strategy (influencermarketinghub.com), 31 July 2023, last accessed on 9 August 2023.

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 the definition of a business user of online social networking services, it is necessary
to consider all business users for the purpose of rebutting the presumption in Article
3(2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, and not only those that are paid advertisers,
because non-advertising business users may still rely on TikTok to gain visibility for
their activity. Indeed, as explained in recital (58) above, TikTok facilitates
communication and connection between business users and end users, as well as
content discovery and sharing across multiple devices and in particular via chats,
posts, videos and recommendations, with a view to enabling them to grow their
businesses (e.g., via a variety of creative tools), scale their brand presence (e.g., via
auto-messaging and post scheduler) and drive sales with business-friendly features
(e.g., via link-in-bio, business contact information, and lead generation tools).
(149) Moreover, the engagement numbers of registered business users that were presented
by ByteDance are not representative. As explained in recitals (83) to (87) above, the
notion of “registered business accounts” has several shortcomings which prevents it
from accurately and comprehensively representing the business users of TikTok and,
thus, those users’ engagement levels. Furthermore, and in addition to these
shortcomings, the data and evidence provided by ByteDance cover only some of the
forms of user engagement on online social networking services that are referred to in
Section E of Annex to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. Finally, as ByteDance
acknowledges itself, […]. 156
(v) Alleged large number of competitors, including incumbent ecosystems
(150) TikTok’s contention that it faces a large number of competitors in online advertising
and video sharing is also irrelevant to rebut the presumption laid down in Article
3(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, since the rebuttal at issue concerns
ByteDance’s online social networking service TikTok and not its online advertising
service.
(151) In any event, comparing the online advertising figures for Alphabet, Meta and
Amazon with those of ByteDance is inappropriate, since the online advertising
figures for those undertakings relate to a significantly wider scope of services on
which advertising is being displayed than TikTok.
(152) In addition, as presented in Table 1 above, with 125 million end users in the Union,
TikTok is already half the size of both Facebook and Instagram (each having
approximately 250 million end users in the Union). 157 TikTok has been growing
significantly since 2020, despite the presence of Meta and Alphabet, reaching higher
end user engagement, particularly for a younger user demographic, even when
compared to Facebook and Instagram.
(153)
The same is true as regards TikTok’s business user numbers, as illustrated in recitals
(88) to (93) above. In terms of self-identified EU business accounts, TikTok by far
exceeds the threshold of 10 000 business users laid down in Article 3(2)(b) of
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, under both user counting methodologies relied on by
ByteDance. 158 The increase in self-identified business user numbers over the last
three years indicates that TikTok’s importance for business users has been growing
since 2020.

156
Form GD, paragraph 93; Form GD, Annex 4, paragraph 22.
157
Form GD, Annex 4, point 66.
158
See Table 3 above, second and third columns.

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 (154) This finding is further underpinned by the fact that the self-identification feature
grants users access to business-specific functionalities, such as performance insights,
creative tools, and exclusive account options. 159 The existence of those
functionalities, which are aimed squarely at businesses, belies ByteDance’s claim
that TikTok’s offering for business users is significantly underdeveloped and that
TikTok as an online social networking service therefore does not constitute an
important gateway for business users. On the contrary, the fact that TikTok invests in
developing new functionalities for business users points to the fact that the online
social networking CPS TikTok is an important service for business users, as
evidenced by those users’ increasingly intense use of TikTok to reach end users.
5.1.3.2.3. Assessment of the arguments seeking to rebut the presumption laid down in
Article 3(2)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
(155) The Commission considers that the arguments submitted by ByteDance pursuant to
Article 3(5), first subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 are not sufficiently
substantiated so as to manifestly call into question the presumption set out in Article
3(2)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
(156) First, by claiming that TikTok’s position is not unassailable, ByteDance in substance
attempts to introduce a condition that goes well beyond the requirement of enjoying
an entrenched and durable position laid down in Article 3(1)(c) of Regulation (EU)
2022/1925 for designation as a gatekeeper. Indeed, as confirmed by recital (21) of
the preamble to that Regulation, Article 3(1)(c) does not refer to an “unassailable”
position, but to an “entrenched and durable position”, which notably occurs where
contestability is limited.
(157) Second, and in any event, recital (21) of the preamble to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
explains that limited contestability is likely to exist where an undertaking has
provided a CPS in at least three Member States to a very high number of end users
and business users over a period of at least three years. The latter is clearly the case
for TikTok. As reflected in Tables 1 and 3 above, TikTok had over 125 million
monthly active end users and [>10 000] yearly active business in the Union in 2022.
(158) Third, TikTok’s significant scale and growth in terms of business and end user
numbers over the recent years with an upward trajectory further supports the finding
that that service enjoys an entrenched and durable position within the meaning of
Article 3(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. In light thereof, ByteDance’s
argument that its economic significance would be affected by the […] of users and
advertisers to other online social networking services does not manifestly call into
question the presumption stemming from Article 3(2)(c) of Regulation (EU)
2022/1925.
(159) Fourth, nothing in Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 suggests that an undertaking cannot
be simultaneously a “challenger” to certain gatekeepers and a gatekeeper in its own
right. To the contrary, from the perspective of the strongly growing business users of
the service, TikTok has already grown to half the size of Facebook and Instagram

159
See https://www.tiktok.com/business/en/solutions/business-account and
https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/tiktok-business-account-features?lang=en last accessed on 9 August
2023. Moreover, the self-identification feature enables users to grow their businesses, scale their brand
presence, and drive sales with business-friendly features. See
https://www.tiktok.com/business/en/solutions/business-account last accessed on 9 August 2023.

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 over the last three years and, as explained in recital (141) above, appears to be able to
deliver a high engagement rate, in particular among young users.
(160) Finally, the fact that certain undertakings emulate successful features of other
undertakings, as ByteDance claims Meta and Alphabet have done in relation to
TikTok, is not uncommon in digital markets and is not capable as such of rebutting
the presumption laid down in Article 3(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.
5.1.3.2.4. Assessment of additional arguments seeking to rebut the presumption laid
down in Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
(161) As clarified by recital (23) of the preamble to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, in
assessing the arguments and evidence submitted by an undertaking pursuant to
Article 3(5) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, first subparagraph, the Commission can
only take into account arguments directly relating to the quantitative thresholds laid
down in Article 3(2) of that Regulation. Consequently, ByteDance’s arguments
summarised in Section 5.1.3.1.4 above, which do not refer to the quantitative
thresholds, cannot be taken into account in this context.
(162) ByteDance’s arguments related to the rebuttal procedure and its claim that the
Commission is foreclosing the rebuttal process and denying ByteDance its rights
under law are unfounded. Through its letter of 26 July 2023, the Commission
informed ByteDance of its preliminary views regarding its possible designation as a
gatekeeper pursuant to Article 3(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 and regarding
ByteDance’s rebuttal arguments, provided ByteDance with an opportunity to submit
its views on the content of the letter and, thus, ensured ByteDance’s right to be
heard.
5.1.3.2.5. Conclusion on ByteDance’s arguments seeking to rebut the presumption of
Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
(163) For the reasons set above, the Commission concludes that the arguments submitted
by ByteDance are not sufficiently substantiated to manifestly call into question the
presumptions laid down in Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 in relation to
the online social networking CPS TikTok. 160 Consequently, the Commission rejects
those arguments pursuant to Article 3(5), second paragraph, of Regulation (EU)
2022/1925, without applying the procedure laid down in Article 17(3) of that
Regulation.
5.1.4. Conclusion for TikTok
(164) For the reasons set out in recitals (38) to (66), (69), (72) to (73), and (81) to (95)
above, the Commission concludes that TikTok constitutes an online social
networking CPS within the meaning of Article 2, point (2), subpoint (c), of
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 and that ByteDance meets the thresholds laid down in
Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 in relation to the online social networking
CPS TikTok. Consequently, ByteDance is to be designated as a gatekeeper pursuant
to Article 3(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 in relation to its online social
networking CPS TikTok.

160
The Commission took note of ByteDance’s submission in Form GD, Annex 11 on ByteDance’s
interpretation of the legal obligations of the Commission when assessing Article 3(5) of Regulation
(EU) 2022/1925.

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 6. CONCLUSION
(165) In light of the above, the Commission concludes, pursuant to Article 3 of Regulation
(EU) 2022/1925, that ByteDance is to be designated as a gatekeeper and that the
following CPS of ByteDance is individually an important gateway for business users
to reach end users: (i) its online social networking CPS TikTok.
(166) The findings in this Decision are based on the information available to the
Commission at the time of its adoption. They are without prejudice to the possibility
that the Commission may reconsider or amend this Decision, pursuant to Article 4(1)
of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, should there be any substantial change in any of the
facts on which this Decision was based, or if this decision was based on incomplete,
incorrect or misleading information,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1
ByteDance is designated as a gatekeeper pursuant to Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925.

Article 2
The following core platform service of ByteDance is an important gateway for business users
to reach end users within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925:
(a) ByteDance’s online social networking service TikTok.

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 Article 3
This Decision is addressed to ByteDance Ltd., C/O Vistra (Cayman) Limited, P.O. Box 31119
Grand Pavilion, Hibiscus Way, 802 West Bay Road, Grand Cayman, George Town, KY1-
1205, Cayman Islands.

Done at Brussels, 5.9.2023

For the Commission

Margrethe VESTAGER
Executive Vice-President

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