The DSA's Blind Spot: Algorithmic Audit of Advertising and Minor Profiling on TikTok
Adolescents spend an increasing amount of their time in digital environments where their still-developing cognitive capacities leave them unable to recognize or resist commercial persuasion. Article 28(2) of the DSA responds to this vulnerability by prohibiting profiling-based advertising to minors. However, the regulation's narrow definition of "advertisement" excludes current advertising practices including influencer paid partnerships and brand promotional content that serve functionally equivalent commercial purposes. We provide the first empirical evidence of how this definitional gap operates in practice through an algorithmic audit of TikTok. Our approach deploys sock-puppet accoun...
| Authors | Sara Solarova, Matej Mosnar, Matus Tibensky et al. |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.CY |
| Published | 5 March 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 9 May 2026 |
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