The European Union threatens TikTok with fines over its addictive design
The European Commission has escalated its rhetoric against the popular short-video platform TikTok, demanding that it make fundamental changes to the app's design and recommendation algorithms in order to avoid huge financial penalties that could be imposed on it under the EU's strict laws on digital content.
Details of the European accusations: The trap of digital addiction
In a move reflecting growing concern about users' mental health, the European Union issued a stark warning to ByteDance, the app's owner, on Friday, stating that the platform's current design encourages "behavioral addiction." The Commission based its preliminary findings, stemming from an extensive investigation that began in February 2024, on the fact that features such as "Infinite Scroll," autoplay videos, and a variable rewards system all exploit users' psychological vulnerabilities, particularly those of minors, to keep them engaged with the app for as long as possible.
Thomas Renier, a spokesperson for the Commission, stated that these features clearly violate the Digital Services Act (DSA), explaining that algorithms designed to promote continuous interaction lead to what is known as the “rabbit hole effect,” where users drift into watching potentially harmful content without stopping, posing serious risks to their mental and physical health.
Digital Services Act: A Strict Legal Framework
This move comes as part of the implementation of the European Union’s recently adopted Digital Services Act, one of the world’s most comprehensive pieces of legislation regulating major technology companies. The Act aims to compel digital platforms to take greater responsibility for the content they provide and to ensure the safety of online users. Under the Act, major platforms are required to assess the systemic risks posed by their services, including risks related to public health and the protection of minors, and to take effective measures to mitigate them.
If TikTok is found to be non-compliant with these standards, it faces the risk of financial penalties that could reach 6% of its total annual global sales, an amount that could amount to billions of dollars, putting the company under enormous economic and legal pressure.
TikTok's response and potential confrontation
For its part, TikTok categorically rejected these accusations. A company spokesperson asserted that the Commission's findings present a "false" picture of reality, emphasizing that the platform has already taken proactive steps to protect young users, such as limiting screen time for teenagers to 60 minutes. The company announced its intention to use all available legal means to challenge these findings and defend its position.
It is worth noting that this European pressure coincides with other global challenges facing the platform, including the ongoing threats of bans or forced sales in the United States, making the current period pivotal in determining the future of the Chinese application on the international stage.
