TikTok is at the point of EU panic over potential Digital Services Act (DSA) violations around the safety of minors and other issues. Official processes will focus on addictive algorithms, the “rabbit hole effect”, age verification issues and default privacy settings. The European Commission is also investigating advertising transparency and data access for researchers press release.
The investigation focuses on the privacy and safety of minors. The commission will consider the potential downsides of TikTok’s design and algorithms, including addictive behavior and “rabbit hole effects” that can lead to harmful content. The purpose of the assessment is to “combat potential risks to the exercise of the fundamental right to the physical and mental well-being of the individual. [and] respect for children’s rights”, EC wrote.
As part of this, it is also investigating TikTok’s age verification tools, which are supposed to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate content. At the same time, it will force the social media site to provide a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors with regard to default privacy settings — as much as he did For Meta’s Instagram and Facebook.
Today we are opening an investigation #TikTok Regarding the suspected violation of transparency and obligations related to the protection of minors:
📱Addictive design and screen time limits
🕳️ Rabbit hole effect
🔞 Age verification
🔐 Default privacy settings
Execution #DSA for a safe internet for young people pic.twitter.com/4d2F0FQUHw
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) February 19, 2024
Europe is also investigating TikTok’s compliance with DSA obligations to “provide a searchable and reliable repository for ads.” It is also investigating suspected deficiencies in the researcher’s access to TikTok’s publicly available data, as required by the DSA.
After the opening of the process, the Commission will continue to collect evidence. The procedure allows it to take further enforcement steps, including interim measures and non-compliance decisions.
TikTok (and parent ByteDance) already had to big changes For EU users, introducing DSA by giving users the option not to allow algorithms to boost Your Page (FYP). It also introduced new harmful content reporting options and removed personalized ads for EU users aged 13-17.
EU already investigates TikTok, together with Meta, to determine what they are doing to reduce illegal content and misinformation related to the ongoing violence in the Middle East. In 2022, Meta was hit by a year $414 million in fines to request personalized advertisements. It is rumored to offer a paid tier to users to get rid of personalized ads and TikTok. can also work on such a scheme. There are civil rights groups prompts The EU rejected the plans, saying they would “pay for secrecy”.
