EU regulators warned TikTok it must curb addictive features like infinite scroll and autoplay that could ‘harm the physical and mental wellbeing of its users.’
The European Commission has warned TikTok to overhaul what it calls the platform’s “addictive design” or face potentially large fines under the Digital Services Act.
In its preliminary findings, the commission said on Feb. 6 that TikTok did not “adequately assess” addictive features that could “harm the physical and mental wellbeing of its users, including minors and vulnerable adults.”
The European Commission preliminarily found TikTok in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA) for its “addictive design.”
This includes features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and its highly personalised recommender system.
It said that it is “constantly ’rewarding’ users” with new content in a design with features that fuel the urge to keep scrolling and shift the brain of users into “autopilot mode.”
The findings were made under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which focuses on content moderation, user safety, and platform accountability and applies to companies that operate within the EU, regardless of their location. If found in violation of the DSA, companies can be fined as much as 6 percent of their annual global turnover.
Henna Virkkunen, executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security, and democracy, said in a statement accompanying the news that “social media addiction can have detrimental effects on the developing minds of children and teens.”
“The Digital Services Act makes platforms responsible for the effects they can have on their users. In Europe, we enforce our legislation to protect our children and our citizens online,” she added.
“So now we are expecting after that … TikTok has to take actions and they have to change the design of their service in Europe to protect our minors,” Virkkunen told reporters.
She said investigations into other online platforms were advancing well and that decisions are expected in the next weeks and months, without naming any company.
The commission said that TikTok “needs to change the basic design of its service,” including implementing “screen time breaks” when people are using it at night, and changing its algorithms, which feed users personalised content.
TikTok’s global parent company is ByteDance, a Chinese-founded, China-headquartered company subject to Chinese law, which is under the control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
By Owen Evans
