TikTok risks defeat at EU court after advocate recommends rejecting DMA appeal
Advocate General Andrea Biondi told the EU court on 15 October 2026 that TikTok's challenge to gatekeeper status under the Digital Markets Act should be dismissed.
TikTok faces a fresh legal setback in the European Union after Advocate General Andrea Biondi recommended today, 15 October 2026, that the Court of Justice of the European Union dismiss the Chinese-owned platform's appeal against its designation under the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA).
If the court follows Biondi's non-binding opinion, TikTok would remain classified as a gatekeeper under the DMA and therefore subject to a special regulatory regime that includes potential fines of up to 10 percent of annual global turnover for breaches of the rules.
What the opinion means
The dispute centres on whether TikTok should be granted an exemption from gatekeeper duties on the grounds that it faces strong competition from other social networks. ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, argued that users routinely use multiple platforms, a point the Advocate General said does not suffice to exclude TikTok from the DMA framework.
This is the first DMA case to reach the Court of Justice. A lower EU court already rejected TikTok's challenge in 2024. The final judgment from the Court of Justice is expected in the coming months; historically, judges follow the Advocate General's opinion in roughly four out of five cases.
TikTok has not issued a public response to the Advocate General's opinion so far. Confirmation of gatekeeper status for the short-video app would also reinforce Brussels' regulatory reach over other major tech firms that are already covered by the DMA, including Google, Meta, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Booking.
Photo: press material from the event
