Aontacht Media Is Bringing TikTok To Court Under The EU Digital Services Act

Aontacht Media is deeply concerned by the dramatic collapse in the reach of our TikTok content. This decline has come amid widespread reports from left-wing creators, pro-Palestine activists, trade unionists and independent media outlets who say their content has similarly seen sharp drops in visibility. This has led us to believe that our account has been ‘shadowbanned’, which means in practice that our TikTok account, having received 1000s of views per video before, has now dropped to 10-50 views, making it practically unusable. 

These changes have followed the platform's takeover by a consortium led by billionaire Larry Ellison, a close ally of Donald Trump, and come at a time when left-wing and anti-establishment voices across social media increasingly report reduced reach and engagement.

We believe the lack of transparency surrounding TikTok's moderation and recommendation systems is unacceptable, particularly when political speech is affected.

We have asked TikTok to review our account and explain what has happened. As we have not received a satisfactory response, only an automated message, we intend to take our case to Appeals Centre Europe under the EU Digital Services Act and seek an independent review. We believe that the actions of TikTok amount to journalistic suppression, a breach of the regulations to protect media pluralism and independence in the EU.

Independent left-wing media deserve the same opportunity to reach audiences as anyone else. Billionaires should not be able to quietly shape political discourse through opaque algorithms, and social media companies must be held accountable when they fail to provide transparency and due process.