EU regulators have accused TikTok of breaching the bloc’s online safety rules, warning that its addictive recommendation algorithm could harm users’ mental health, particularly children and teenagers.
TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, could face a fine of up to 6 per cent of its global annual turnover if it fails to address the concerns, regulators said on Friday.
Social media companies face mounting pressure to overhaul their algorithms amid growing concerns about their impact on children’s mental health. Several governments have already introduced or are considering restrictions on younger users.
The European Commission, the EU’s technology regulator, issued preliminary findings against TikTok, accusing the platform of failing to take adequate measures to reduce risks linked to its recommendation system.
Regulators warned that repeated exposure to videos focusing on sadness, isolation and body image could damage users’ mental health, particularly when algorithms continuously promote similar content.
TikTok strongly rejected the findings, defending its safety measures and the way its platform operates.
“The Commission has made a series of statements that are fundamentally inaccurate and distort our platform's architecture and our commitment to user safety,” the company said in a statement.
“We have a strong record of protecting our community while giving users direct and intuitive control over their content experience.”
The Commission called for significant changes to TikTok’s recommendation system, warning that its design can trap users in a cycle of similar videos, often described as the ‘rabbit hole’ effect.
“Every time a user scrolls or likes a video on TikTok, the algorithm serves more of the same leading users down rabbit holes they cannot easily escape from,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
Regulators urged TikTok to redesign its ‘For You’ feed to give greater weight to users’ stated preferences, make content controls easier to access and use, and regularly test its algorithm to assess potential risks.
The findings form part of a broader investigation under the EU’s Digital Services Act, which requires major online platforms to tackle illegal content and address risks associated with their services.
In February, EU regulators also accused TikTok of using addictive design features, failing to adequately protect children and making it difficult for researchers to access publicly available data.
TikTok dismissed those preliminary findings as “categorically false” and said it would challenge them.
The Commission is also separately investigating whether recommendation systems on Meta Platforms’ Facebook and Instagram create similar ‘rabbit hole’ effects, raising wider questions about how social media algorithms influence user behaviour and wellbeing.
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