EU says TikTok's For You feed design is harmful, tells it to change
The European Commission has preliminarily found that TikTok's For You feed breaches the Digital Services Act. TikTok calls the findings "fundamentally inaccurate".
- The European Commission found preliminary evidence that TikTok breached the Digital Services Act.
- It says the For You feed creates a harmful "rabbit hole" effect.
- TikTok rejects the findings and says they misrepresent how the platform works.
The European Commission warned TikTok on Friday that it must change the design of its personalised For You feed or risk large fines under the EU's digital rules. Brussels says the recommendation algorithm risks exposing children and vulnerable users to harmful content.
The Commission has found preliminary evidence that TikTok violated the Digital Services Act. It accuses the platform of creating a "rabbit holes" effect, in which the algorithm repeatedly recommends similar videos.
In a statement, the European Commission said: "The more a user interacts with a certain type of content, the more TikTok's 'For You' feed algorithm recommends similar content. This design can be harmful when such endless and repeated exposure involves, for example, content about sadness, isolation or body image."
The Commission says the algorithm keeps recommending similar videos even when users indicate they are not interested in certain content. It acknowledges that TikTok has taken steps to address these risks, but says they have not been effective enough.
The Commission urges TikTok to give more weight to users' preferences, warning that the "not interested" button may not be enough. It suggests that TikTok stop using viewing time to recommend videos, make user controls easier to access and use, and regularly test its algorithm.
A TikTok spokesperson rejected the findings. "The Commission has made a series of statements that are fundamentally inaccurate and distort our platform's architecture and our commitment to user safety. We have a strong record of protecting our community while giving users direct and intuitive control over their content experience," the spokesperson said.
The Commission opened its investigation into TikTok over possible breaches of the Digital Services Act more than two years ago. Earlier this year it issued two other sets of preliminary findings, accusing TikTok of addictive design features and of failing to adequately protect children's privacy rights online. In July, the EU also called on Meta to change the addictive design of Facebook and Instagram as part of similar investigations.
Why it matters
TikTok is widely used in Pakistan, so changes the EU requires to its recommendation feed could affect how the app works for users here. The findings are preliminary and concern the EU's rules, and the reports do not say whether any change would apply outside the bloc.
