The European Union has released new Digital Services Act transparency reports covering January to June 2025, giving a detailed view of how major platforms are shifting in both user activity and content enforcement. Meta, TikTok, and LinkedIn each provided updated figures that outline growth rates, audience reach, and moderation changes across member states.
Instagram Extends Lead as Facebook Stalls
Meta’s data shows[1] that Instagram[2] continues to expand in Europe, while Facebook’s numbers[3] remain flat. Instagram recorded 281.8 million monthly active users in the EU during the first half of 2025, compared with 263.6 million for Facebook. Since March 2024, Facebook’s user base grew by just 0.65 percent, while Instagram rose by 6.17 percent. Facebook even lost ground in countries including the Netherlands, Greece, and Germany.
| Member State | Instagram’s Average Monthly Active Users |
|---|---|
| Austria | 5.2M |
| Belgium | 7.6M |
| Bulgaria | 2.9M |
| Croatia | 2.1M |
| Cyprus | 1.3M |
| Czech Republic | 6.1M |
| Denmark | 3.9M |
| Estonia | Less than 1M |
| Finland | 3.5M |
| France | 43.7M |
| Germany | 47.2M |
| Greece | 6.3M |
| Hungary | 4.3M |
| Ireland | 3.7M |
| Italy | 41.7M |
| Latvia | 1.1M |
| Lithuania | 1.4M |
| Luxembourg | Less than 1M |
| Malta | Less than 1M |
| Netherlands (the) | 11.9M |
| Poland | 18.6M |
| Portugal | 8.9M |
| Romania | 8.7M |
| Slovakia | 2.5M |
| Slovenia | 1M |
| Spain | 37.5M |
| Sweden | 8M |
On moderation, Meta reported that its global workforce dedicated to enforcement remains at 40,000, the same figure it has cited since 2023. Spam removals dropped on both Facebook and Instagram, while removals for bullying and harassment increased sharply on Facebook. Reported hate speech removals fell by about 20 percent, though Meta said the shift reflects changes in its definitions.
TikTok Rises Quickly with More Automated Controls
TikTok’s fifth filing under the DSA shows[4] its EU user base has reached 170 million, a rise of 25 percent since September 2023. Growth was broadly spread across the region, though slower in markets such as Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Estonia showed little movement.
TikTok also shared its wider global figures, reporting around 170 million users in the United States, about 30 million in the United Kingdom, over 100 million in both Brazil and Indonesia, and about 700 million on Douyin in China.
In Europe, the platform removed 24.5 million posts during the first six months of 2025 for guideline breaches, up 15 percent from its previous report. It also took down 2.5 million ads, compared with 1.5 million in the second half of 2024. TikTok has cut its human moderation team by 26 percent since September 2023, with a stronger reliance on automated detection. Systems now flag 90 percent of posts related to mental and behavioural health, compared with 49 percent in 2023, and 77 percent of youth safety violations, up from 38 percent. Removals for intellectual property issues, political content, and adult advertising more than doubled, reflecting a closer focus on enforcement as TikTok expands its commerce tools.
LinkedIn Sees Steady Growth and Rising Reports
LinkedIn reported[5] 54.7 million monthly active logged-in users in the EU for the first half of 2025, alongside 213 million logged-out visits. This represents a 14 percent rise in activity since March 2024. Slovenia, Lithuania, and Czechia showed the highest growth, while larger markets rose by about 10 percent.
The company also disclosed that it has more than 160 million registered members in Europe. The comparison suggests that around 36 percent of its members log in monthly. If applied globally, the ratio would point to about 432 million active users, well below the 1.2 billion members it reports in total.
LinkedIn has added staff to its enforcement team, which now stands at 1,757 worldwide, an increase of 52 percent since March 2024. Reports from users grew across several categories. Misinformation reports rose by 25 percent, hate speech by 12 percent, harassment by 33 percent, and fake accounts by 11 percent.
Different Paths Under the Same Rules
The reports show clear differences in how platforms are managing growth and regulation in Europe. Instagram continues to pull further ahead of Facebook. TikTok is expanding quickly and leaning on automation despite a reduced human workforce. LinkedIn is growing more gradually, while investing in more staff to handle user concerns over harmful material.
Together, the filings highlight the varied strategies that platforms are using to meet DSA obligations and respond to the shifting patterns of European users.
Notes: This post was edited/created using GenAI tools. Image: DIW-Aigen.
Read next:
• WhatsApp Brings AI Backgrounds and New Themes to Chats[6]
• YouTube Begins Tightening Family Plan Rules[7]
References
- ^ data shows (transparency.meta.com)
- ^ Instagram (scontent.flhe2-3.fna.fbcdn.net)
- ^ Facebook’s numbers (scontent.flhe2-2.fna.fbcdn.net)
- ^ fifth filing under the DSA shows (sf16-va.tiktokcdn.com)
- ^ LinkedIn reported (content.linkedin.com)
- ^ WhatsApp Brings AI Backgrounds and New Themes to Chats (www.digitalinformationworld.com)
- ^ YouTube Begins Tightening Family Plan Rules (www.digitalinformationworld.com)