The European Commission said on Thursday that TikTok’s addictive design features breach the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and fail to adequately protect users, particularly children and other vulnerable groups.
In preliminary findings from an investigation launched in 2024, the Commission said TikTok did not sufficiently assess how features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications and its highly personalised recommendation system could harm users’ physical and mental wellbeing.
Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said TikTok reaches around 170 million users across the European Union.
“Most of these users are children,” Regnier said. “TikTok is by far the most used platform after midnight by children between 13 and 18.”
According to the Commission, the platform’s design encourages compulsive use, posing significant risks to mental health and wellbeing, especially among minors.
“These features lead to the compulsive use of the app, especially for our kids, and this poses major risks to their mental health and wellbeing,” Regnier said.
The Commission said TikTok appears to have failed to put in place reasonable, proportionate and effective measures to mitigate risks linked to its addictive design.
Regnier said TikTok has the right to respond to the findings. If the company fails to adequately address the concerns, the Commission could issue a non-compliance decision that may result in fines of up to 6% of TikTok’s global annual turnover.
The findings are preliminary, and the investigation is ongoing.
