European Commission Says TikTok Must Remove 'Addictive Design'
EU says TikTok's autoplay and infinite scroll breach the Digital Services Act and could face fines up to 6% of global turnover.
Overview
The European Commission said in preliminary findings that TikTok's autoplay, infinite scroll and recommender system constitute 'addictive design' and warned the platform could face fines of up to 6% of global turnover.
Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission's executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, said addictive features can harm children's mental and physical wellbeing and must be addressed under the Digital Services Act.
TikTok said in a statement that the Commission's preliminary findings were 'categorically false and entirely meritless' and that it will challenge the conclusions through every means available.
TikTok, owned by ByteDance and used by more than 1 billion people worldwide, previously faced a €530 million Irish privacy fine and has estimated revenues of $35 billion, according to WARC estimates.
The Commission invited TikTok to reply and said it could issue a non-compliance decision, impose remedies including app redesign, or levy fines if the preliminary findings are upheld.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources portray the story with editorial framing: they foreground EU regulators' characterizations (addictive design, autopilot mode), prioritize officials' concerns and legal consequences, include TikTok's rebuttal as pushback, and connect ownership and past fines to a broader regulatory-and-geopolitical risk narrative that emphasizes harms to children.
Sources (4)
FAQ
The European Commission identifies TikTok's autoplay, infinite scroll, push notifications, and highly personalised recommender system as addictive design features breaching the Digital Services Act.[6]
TikTok could face fines of up to 6% of its global turnover if the preliminary findings are upheld.[6]
TikTok stated that the preliminary findings are 'categorically false and entirely meritless' and will challenge them through every means available.
Executive vice-president Henna Virkkunen stated that addictive features can harm children's mental and physical wellbeing.
TikTok previously faced a €530 million privacy fine from Ireland.
History
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