The following is the introduction to the report. Read the full report here

The Chinese social media platform TikTok has become a central social media platform
worldwide. Its role and impact have elicited concerns that range from users’ mental health
and the viral spread of disinformation to national security, even in the high-trust,
media-literate Nordic countries. At the same time, several studies – and TikTok itself –
discuss the platform as a powerful educational tool. The platform has demonstrated its
commitment to accountability by joining the European Union’s (EU) Code of Conduct on
Disinformation (2025) and undertaking activities that promote media and information
literacy (MIL) and empower its users to combat disinformation in Europe.

The Code was initially created as a self-governance guide targeting tech platforms, the
online ad industry, and the fact-checking community. After several reiterations, the Code of
Practice became the co-regulatory instrument, the Code of Conduct, in the Digital Services
Act (DSA) in February 2025. It includes tasks related to MIL measures, other
user-empowering actions, collaborations with fact-checkers, and overall policies aimed at
addressing misinformation and disinformation across their services. According to the Code,
platforms must submit descriptions of their activities, called transparency reports, twice a
year.

This extended abstract draws from a monitoring effort of the Code of Practice, developed
and conducted by the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO). It includes an analysis
of the first 2024 transparency reports on selected large platforms (Facebook, Instagram,
YouTube, Google Search, Bing, LinkedIn, TikTok), as well as related reflections from
fact-checkers and media literacy actors. The abstract provides an overview of the EU-level
findings, focusing on TikTok’s MIL activities under the Code in the Nordic EU countries
Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, as well as in Norway, with an additional look at the second
report of 2024. Given the platform’s popularity, the changing self-governance practices of
US-based platforms, and the potential changes in TikTok’s ownership, it is essential to
analyze the role TikTok claims to play – and actually plays – in supporting MIL in the Nordics.