Final decision could fine TikTok up to 6% of its annual revenue
The European Union’s executive arm issued preliminary findings Friday accusing TikTok of breaching the bloc’s digital rules because its algorithm recommends users a nonstop stream of personalized videos, including clips the commission said could hurt mental health and body image.
The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm, said the short-video sharing platform must change the design of its “For You” feed so users have more control over opting out of seeing certain content.
Regulators said the platform failed to assess how its recommendation systems could lead people into “rabbit holes” that threaten their wellbeing — feeding them similar video clips based on what they previously viewed or liked, even when the content is “triggering,” such as clips about weight loss and mental health struggles.
“Every time a user scrolls or likes a video on TikTok, the algorithm serves more of the same, leading users down rabbit holes they cannot easily escape from,” European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, who oversees tech sovereignty, said in a statement.
“Today’s preliminary findings show again that TikTok needs to step up its efforts to protect users’ well-being, including those of minors,” she said.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company will have a chance to respond to the preliminary findings before the commission issues its final decision, which could include a fine of up to 6% of TikTok’s total annual revenue.
The platform has added some measures aimed at reducing the “rabbit hole effect,” such as a “not interested” button, but the commission said they are ineffective in reducing how often harmful content is recommended.
European regulators said they want TikTok to make changes to the “For You” feed, including giving more weight to the “explicit preferences” of people using the platform, stopping reliance on viewing time as a metric for recommending content and making user controls more accessible.
The action is the latest in a series of enforcement measures targeting TikTok by EU regulators under the Digital Services Act, a wide-ranging rulebook that requires tech companies to adhere to the bloc’s framework under threat of hefty financial penalties.
The commission opened its investigation into whether TikTok violated the DSA more than two years ago. This year it has already issued two other sets of preliminary findings, accusing the platform of breaching the rules with “addictive design” features that lead to compulsive use by children and charging it with failing to adequately protect children’s privacy rights.