ÖIAT Research

The Austrian Institute for Applied Telecommunications (ÖIAT) has been promoting the competent, safe and responsible use of digital media for more than 20 years. Together with our partners, we conduct research on current topics related to the digital world. On this page we provide an overview of past and current research projects.

#NoAds? Stealth Advertising on TikTok

Coordination
Go to https://oiat.at/
Funding
Go to https://wien.arbeiterkammer.at/index.html
Results
2024/12 – 2025/05
Consumer Protection Dark Patterns Social Media

As TikTok has rapidly evolved into one of the leading social media platforms, a complex advertising ecosystem has emerged. This system encompasses a wide range of advertising formats and marketing tools: from official (and paid) advertisements, influencer marketing, and brand collaborations to live commerce features and branded challenges. The aim of this study, commissioned by the Vienna Chamber of Labour, is to examine advertising and sponsored content on the TikTok platform.

Current and common labeling practices were analyzed and assessed for compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA), alongside a review of TikTok’s ad library. Other commercial content, such as the platform’s own virtual currency (TikTok Coins) and subscription models, was also included in the analysis. One of the central outcomes of the study is the identification of problems and risks within TikTok’s advertising ecosystem, along with the development of recommendations to improve this ecosystem in the interest of consumers.

The main areas of concern identified on TikTok include:

  • Lack of advertising disclosure: Advertising content must be clearly recognizable as such. However, it remains common practice on TikTok for commercial content to be inadequately labeled or not labeled at all.
  • Targeting of minors: Direct targeting isn't required to reach minors on the platform. This is made possible through the absence of a defined target group or by selecting their interest categories. In general, the platform was found to offer insufficient protection for minors.
  • Problematic cross-financing of advertisements: On TikTok, it is possible to promote videos from other users, provided the promoting account is public.
  • Lack of transparency in TikTok’s virtual currency
  • Gambling-like practices in live streams
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