EU demands TikTok change its 'addictive design'

Accuses Chinese-owned platform of violating its digital content rules

BRUSSELS:

The EU said Friday that it had told TikTok it needs to change its "addictive design" or risk heavy fines, after the Chinese-owned platform was found in breach of the bloc's digital content rules.

The European Commission, announcing preliminary conclusions of a probe opened two years ago, said it found TikTok was not taking effective steps to address negative impacts from some of its features, especially for young people and children. It said TikTok was believed to be "in breach of the Digital Services Act for its addictive design", including through features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and a highly personalised recommender system.

The commission said its probe so far indicated that TikTok did too little to "assess how these addictive features could harm the physical and mental wellbeing of its users, including minors and vulnerable adults".

To address the concerns — and avoid the risk of hefty fines — 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 wellbeing."

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 — 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 President Donald Trump.

The DSA is part of a bolstered legal armoury adopted by the EU in recent years to curb Big Tech's excesses, and officials have said TikTok has been cooperating with the bloc's digital regulators so far. The commission findings raised concerns about TikTok design features that "fuel the urge to keep scrolling".

Brussels accused TikTok of disregarding "important indicators of compulsive use of the app" such as the time spent on the platform by children 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. The commission found that TikTok's time management tools were "easy to dismiss" including for young users, while parental controls required "additional time and skills from parents to introduce" them.

'Extremely cooperative'

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.