By Aisling Byrne
The High Court has refused ByteDance Ltd's attempt to temporarily halt Coimisiún na Meán's investigation into TikTok insofar as it concerns ByteDance and the identity of the companies providing the platform in the EU.
The investigation concerns suspected breaches of the EU Digital Services Act involving TikTok's mechanisms for reporting illegal content and rules prohibiting online interfaces which deceive or manipulate users. Coimisiún na Meán is also examining which legal entities form the economic unit providing TikTok in Europe.
The regulatory engagement began after concerns were raised with the Commission by a German human rights organisation. Coimisiún na Meán engaged with TikTok Technology Limited from July 2024 and later widened its inquiry to include suspected breaches of Articles 16 and 25 of the Digital Services Act and the identity of the service provider.
In December 2025, notice of the investigation was sent to TikTok Technology Limited in Ireland and ByteDance Limited in the Cayman Islands. ByteDance commenced judicial review proceedings later that month, arguing among other things that the Commission lacked legal authority to investigate it or determine the wider scope of the TikTok provider.
The High Court granted an interim stay in January 2026. ByteDance then sought to continue a narrower stay until the substantive judicial review hearing scheduled for 16 June 2026, while allowing the investigation to continue against TikTok Technology Limited.
Mr Justice Conleth Bradley refused that application on 26 March. He gave significant weight to the presumptive validity of the regulator's decisions and to the public interest in enforcing the Digital Services Act, which is intended to protect users, including children and vulnerable people.
The judge also considered identifying the actual provider of TikTok relevant to effective regulation and any eventual corrective action.
The ruling does not determine whether ByteDance's underlying legal challenge is correct. Those substantive issues remain for the June hearing.