EU Commission Urges TikTok’s to Change its “Addictive Design”

The European Commission said today that TikTok’s “addictive design” is breaching the Digital Services Act (DSA), a new European law aiming to make big tech companies accountable for the societal risks they may generate. Today’s announcement is the result of an investigation that started in 2024 to determine if the controversial video platform was compliant with the DSA.

In its preliminary findings, the EU Commission said that TikTok’s infinite scroll, autoplaying videos, and fine-tuned algorithm could “harm the physical and mental wellbeing of its users, including minors and vulnerable adults.” The EU regulator added that TikTok’s parental controls and screen time management tools aren’t sufficient to prevent addictive behaviours.

“At this stage, the Commission considers that TikTok needs to change the basic design of its service. For instance, by disabling key addictive features such as ‘infinite scroll’ over time, implementing effective ‘screen time breaks’, including during the night, and adapting its recommender system,” the EU Commission said.

While the EU regulator is giving TikTok some time to respond to its preliminary findings, the company may face fines of up to 6% of its total worldwide annual turnover if the Commission issues a non-compliance decision.

“The Commission’s preliminary findings present a categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform, and we will take whatever steps are necessary to challenge these findings through every means available to us,” a TikTok spokesperson told the Financial Times.