Khaberni - In a new escalation to regulate the work of digital platforms, the European Union has formally accused the application "TikTok", accusing it of adopting an "addictive" design that pushes users to spend excessive time on the platform.
The European Commission announced that after an investigation that lasted about two years, it concluded that some features of the application — including the infinite scroll feature and mechanisms for displaying recommended content — might contribute to excessive use, which contradicts the requirements of the European Digital Services Act.
The Commission has requested "TikTok" to make significant changes to the design of some of its features, in order to limit usage patterns that could lead to digital addiction, especially among younger age groups.
This move comes as part of the implementation of the Digital Services Act, a European legislation aimed at regulating digital content and enhancing user protection within the member states, imposing strict obligations on major platforms in terms of transparency, risk management, and user safety.
"TikTok" is expected to face significant financial penalties if the violations are definitively proven and there is non-compliance with European demands.
Demands of the European Union
According to the Commission's conclusions, TikTok's current design is highly addictive, as features like infinite scrolling that continuously displays new content without stopping, autoplay of videos, and instant notifications.
The application relies on a personalized recommendation system that displays content that keeps users on the app for the longest possible time, driving users towards addiction to the app, particularly among children and teenagers, which could affect their mental health and daily behavior.
The European authorities have demanded TikTok to disable or redesign these features, and to implement mandatory time breaks to limit the time on the application, including during night hours, and to reshuffle how recommendations are displayed to reduce dependence on addictive content.
Insufficient Protection
The Commission pointed out that the current control tools on the app, such as screen time limits and parental controls, do not perform their functions adequately because they can easily be bypassed or require complicated settings by parents.
The European Union stated that its assessment was not limited to the design only, but also on the effectiveness of the measures in reducing compulsive behavior among users, which TikTok has not achieved, according to the Commission’s statement.
Potential Risks
For its part, the TikTok platform rejected the accusations, describing them as inaccurate and unfounded, and confirmed that it would take all available legal steps to challenge these preliminary findings.
However, if the final results confirm that TikTok violated the Digital Services Act, it could face hefty financial penalties up to 6% of its annual global revenue, which could amount to billions of dollars for ByteDance, the company owning the app.
Global Campaign
The European actions are part of a growing global campaign against the designs of social media platforms, with similar legislative pressures in countries like Australia and the United Kingdom, and increased focus on children's rights across digital content.
What's Next?
TikTok is expected to submit its formal response to the investigation's findings in the coming weeks, while the European Commission considers options for implementing penalties or compliance conditions.
If TikTok does not comply with changing the application design, the Commission might proceed to impose fines or take stricter actions to ensure the protection of users within the Union.
