The European Union (EU) demanded that the social media platform TikTok fix what it called a violation of the law due to an "addictive design."
The European Commission said on the 6th (local time) that, based on an investigation under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), it reached a preliminary conclusion that TikTok is not taking effective measures to address negative effects on minors and vulnerable adults. The Commission said TikTok's addictive design violates the DSA, naming infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and a highly personalized recommendation system as concerns.
The Commission said these features, especially for users including children and vulnerable adults, induce compulsive use of the app, posing a serious risk to mental health, yet TikTok is not taking sufficient measures. It then demanded that TikTok take corrective steps in Europe, including gradually disabling the infinite scroll feature to protect minors, introducing effective screen breaks, including at night, and adjusting its recommendation system.
If the Commission finalizes TikTok's DSA violation, TikTok could face a fine of up to 6% of its global annual revenue. TikTok immediately pushed back against the findings. A Spokesperson for TikTok said in a statement that the findings baselessly distort the platform and that it would use every means to respond.
The DSA is the EU's powerful law regulating Big Tech and has examined whether several social media platforms comply with the law. In Dec. last year, the European Commission imposed a fine of 120 million euros on Elon Musk's social media X (formerly Twitter) for violating transparency rules under the DSA. The U.S. government strongly opposed the move as "censorship," and it imposed sanctions such as banning entry to the United States on Thierry Breton, the former EU commissioner for the internal market who led the enactment of the DSA.