The European Commission has preliminarily found that TikTok breaks EU online safety rules by repeatedly recommending similar videos, potentially trapping users in harmful content loops.
The findings, published on Friday, follow a long-running investigation under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The Commission says TikTok’s For You feed keeps recommending videos similar to those users have already watched or liked. This can happen even when the content deals with sensitive subjects such as loneliness, weight loss or body image.
As a result, users can end up seeing more and more videos on topics that may negatively affect their mental health. The Commission said TikTok had failed to properly assess these risks or take sufficient steps to reduce them.
TikTok already offers some controls, including a button that lets users mark videos as “not interested”. However, the Commission found that these features do little to stop the platform from recommending similar harmful content.
Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, said TikTok’s recommendation system can lead users “down rabbit holes they cannot easily escape from”.
“TikTok needs to step up its efforts to protect users’ well-being, including those of minors,” Virkkunen said.
The Commission wants TikTok to redesign its For You feed so that it takes users’ preferences into greater account. It also wants the platform to rely less on watch time when deciding which videos to recommend and make its safety controls easier to access and use.
These are preliminary findings, not a final ruling. TikTok will have the opportunity to respond before the Commission makes its decision.
If the Commission confirms the breach, ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, could face a fine of up to 6% of its global annual turnover.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press.
The investigation adds to the company’s regulatory problems in Europe. In February, the Commission also said TikTok’s addictive design, including features such as endless scrolling, violated the DSA. TikTok rejected those findings and said it would challenge them.
The Commission is also investigating similar concerns about Meta’s Facebook and Instagram , as regulators face growing pressure to address the effects of social media on children’s mental health.
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