<div id="readability-page-1"><div><div><p>On Wednesday, <strong>Meta Platforms, Inc.</strong> <span>META</span> and <strong>ByteDance</strong>-owned <strong>TikTok</strong> challenged the European Union's supervisory fees under the <strong>Digital Services Act</strong>, arguing that the fee calculations are flawed and unfairly inflate their charges.</p><p><strong>What Happened: </strong>The two companies brought their case before the General Court of the EU, arguing that the supervisory fees imposed under the Digital Services Act (DSA) are disproportionate and based on incorrect calculations, reported Reuters.</p><p>The fee, which amounts to 0.05% of a company's global net income, is intended to cover the European Commission's costs of overseeing compliance with the law.</p><p>Meta's lawyer, <strong>Assimakis Komninos</strong>, argued that the fee calculation, which uses the group's overall revenue rather than individual subsidiaries' income, was opaque and &#34;led to completely implausible and absurd results.&#34;</p><p>He also said that Meta still does not fully understand how the fee was calculated, the report added.</p><p>TikTok's lawyer, <strong>Bill Batchelor</strong>, criticized the method as &#34;inaccurate&#34; and &#34;discriminatory,&#34; claiming that the user count was inflated by double-counting users who switch between devices.</p><p>TikTok also argued that the fee unfairly includes costs for other platforms and exceeds the legally mandated fee cap.</p><p>In defense, Commission lawyer <strong>Lorna Armati</strong> stated that group profits were the correct reference point for calculating the fee, arguing that the companies had adequate information to understand the methodology and that the Commission's approach complied with legal standards, the report said.</p><div><p></p><h3>Pre-IPO Offer: Get A Piece Of A Nearly $5T Global Opportunity By Joining BOXABL As An Early Shareholder At Just $0.80/Share</h3><p></p><div><div><div><ul> <li><strong>Massive Demand &amp; Disruptive Potential</strong> – Boxabl has received interest for over 190,000 homes, positioning itself as a major disruptor in the housing market.</li> <li><strong>Revolutionary Manufacturing Approach</strong> – Inspired by Henry Ford’s assembly line, Boxabl’s foldable tiny homes are designed for high-efficiency production, making homeownership more accessible.</li> <li><strong>Affordable Investment Opportunity</strong> – With homes priced at $60,000, Boxabl is raising $1 billion to scale production, offering investors a chance to own a stake in its growth.</li> </ul> </div></div><div><p><span><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://cdnwp-s3.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/22181427/Paolo-and-Gali.jpg/query-YXV0bz13ZWJwJmRwcj0yJm9wdGltaXplPW1lZGl1bSZ3aWR0aD0yMzA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="460" height="306" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://cdnwp-s3.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/22181427/Paolo-and-Gali.jpg/query-YXV0bz13ZWJwJmRwcj0yJm9wdGltaXplPW1lZGl1bSZ3aWR0aD0yMzA"/></span></p></div></div><div><div><p><span><b>Share Price: </b></span><span>$0.80 </span></p><p><span><b>Min. Investment: </b></span><span>$1,000 </span></p><p><span><b>Valuation: </b></span><span>$3.5B </span></p></div></div></div><p>The court is expected to rule on the matter next year</p><p><strong>Why It’s Important:</strong> Apart from Meta and TikTok, the EU had identified 20 major online platforms and two prominent online search engines — including <strong>Alphabet Inc.’s </strong><span>GOOG</span> <span>GOOGL</span> <strong>Google</strong>, <strong>Apple Inc.</strong> <span>AAPL</span>, and others — as subject to this levy under the European Commission's designation.</p><p>The annual fee is determined based on each company's average number of monthly active users and its financial results from the previous year, particularly whether it posted a profit or a loss.</p><p><strong>Price Action:</strong> Meta shares declined by 1.18% on Wednesday and slipped a further 0.43% in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro data.</p><p><strong>Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings</strong> indicate a positive trend for META across short, medium and long-term timeframes. More detailed performance data is available here.</p><ul> <li><strong>Cathie Wood Dumps Palantir As Stock Touches Peak Prices, Bails On Soaring Flying-Taxi Maker Archer Aviation</strong></li> </ul><p><em>Image Courtesy: Respiro / Shutterstock.com</em></p></div></div></div>

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<p>Meta and TikTok have challenged the EU's Digital Services Act fees, claiming they are based on flawed calculations and are discriminatory. The companies argue that the fees, which are 0.05% of global net income, are disproportionate and lack transparency. Meta's lawyer criticized the calculation method, while TikTok's lawyer claimed it inaccurately inflated user counts. The EU Commission defended its approach, stating it complies with legal standards. The court's ruling is expected next year. Meta's shares fell by 1.18% on Wednesday, with further declines in after-hours trading.</p>

- Meta Platforms, Inc. and TikTok have challenged the European Union's supervisory fees under the Digital Services Act, claiming the calculations are flawed and inflate their charges.  
- They argue that the fees, based on global net income, are disproportionate and lack transparency, with TikTok also criticizing the inclusion of costs for other platforms.  
- The court is expected to rule on this matter next year, impacting multiple major online platforms identified by the EU for similar fees.

Meta, TikTok Challenge EU's Digital Services Act Fees, Call Them 'Absurd,' 'Discriminatory' And Based On Flawed Calculations