EU tells TikTok to change ‘addictive’ design
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The Commission suggested TikTok disable its ‘infinite scroll’ over time and implement effective screen time breaks.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- The EU finds TikTok's "addictive design," including infinite scroll and personalised recommendations, breaches the Digital Services Act, harming minors' mental health.
- TikTok refutes the EU's findings, calling them "categorically false," and plans to challenge them, while Trump allies criticise the EU's actions.
- EU demands TikTok alter its design to enhance user safety, particularly for children, or face fines up to 6% of global turnover, says Henna Virkkunen.
AI generated
BRUSSELS - The European Union said on Feb 6 that TikTok needs to change its “addictive design” or risk heavy fines under the bloc’s digital content rules, drawing a sharp pushback from the Chinese-owned platform.
In preliminary conclusions of a probe opened two years ago, the European Commission said it had found that TikTok was not taking effective steps to address the app’s negative impacts, especially on minors and vulnerable adults.
“TikTok’s addictive design is in breach of the Digital Services Act,” said commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier, citing concerns with features such as infinite scroll, auto play, push notifications and a highly personalised recommender system.
“These features lead to the compulsive use of the app, especially for our kids, and this poses major risks to their mental health and well-being,” Mr Regnier said, adding: “The measures that TikTok has in place are simply not enough.”
TikTok rejected the commission’s findings, with a spokesperson saying it presented “a categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform”.
“We will take whatever steps are necessary to challenge these findings through every means available to us,” the spokesperson added in a statement.
Allies of US President Donald Trump in the US Congress said the European Commission’s “punitive actions” were a pretext for curbing political speech and pressuring companies.
The DSA is part of a bolstered legal armoury adopted by the EU in recent years to curb Big Tech’s excesses, and officials had until now said TikTok was cooperating with the bloc’s digital regulators.
TikTok will now have access to the EU’s findings in order to defend itself against the claims.
EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen told reporters that “TikTok has to take actions, they have to change the design of their service in Europe to protect our minors and their well-being”.
The commission gave examples of what the platform could alter, such as:
the platform’s “infinite scroll” offering users an uninterrupted feed;
implementing effective “screen time breaks”, including during the night; and
adapting its recommender system, the algorithms used by platforms to feed users more personalised content.
‘Compulsive use’ of TikTok
The February 2024 investigation was the first opened into TikTok under the DSA, the bloc’s powerful content moderation law that has faced the wrath of the US administration under Mr Trump.
In presenting the probe findings, Mr Regnier cited what he called “extremely alarming” statistics on the app’s use in the EU.
TikTok was “by far” the most-used platform after midnight by young people between 13 and 18, he said, with 7 per cent of children aged 12 to 15 spending four to five hours daily on it.
Brussels accused TikTok of disregarding “important indicators of compulsive use of the app” such as the time minors spent on the platform at night.
It also said TikTok had not implemented effective measures to mitigate risks, taking particular aim at screen time management and parental control tools.
Its time management tools were “easy to dismiss”, including for young users, the commission found, while parental controls required “additional time and skills from parents to introduce” them.
‘Safe by design’
The findings come as several European countries move to curb access to social media for younger teenagers, with officials weighing whether it is time to follow suit at EU level.
Briefing reporters on Feb 6, Ms Virkkunen said her priority was to make platforms safe for all users, children included.
“Social media should be so safe by design that we shouldn’t have that kind of very high age restriction,” she said.
If the regulator’s views on TikTok are confirmed, the commission can impose a fine of up to 6 per cent of the company’s total worldwide annual turnover.
The EU began a separate probe into TikTok in December 2024 on alleged foreign interference during the Romanian presidential elections.
EU spokesman Mr Regnier said earlier this week that TikTok was “extremely cooperative” during that investigation and was taking measures to address the commission’s concerns.
He added that while the probe remained open, regulators could monitor how TikTok behaves during other elections. AFP
