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The European Union has ordered TikTok to overhaul the algorithm driving its For You feed, accusing the platform of violating the bloc’s Digital Services Act by pushing users into self-reinforcing cycles of harmful content they cannot easily exit.
In preliminary findings published on Friday, the European Commission said TikTok’s recommendation system produces an “endless” stream of videos on themes including sadness, isolation and body image, compounding distress rather than alleviating it. “Every time a user scrolls or likes a video on TikTok, the algorithm serves more of the same, leading users down rabbit holes they cannot easily escape from,” said Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s Executive Vice President responsible for tech sovereignty. “Today’s preliminary findings show again that TikTok needs to step up its efforts to protect users’ well-being, including those of minors.”
The Commission acknowledged that TikTok had made some adjustments in response to earlier concerns but said those changes fell short of what the DSA requires. A senior EU official told the AFP news agency that Friday’s action was distinct from the bloc’s February findings, which focused on features such as notifications; this time, regulators are targeting the recommendation algorithm itself.
TikTok rejected the findings outright. A spokesperson for the company said the Commission’s conclusions were “fundamentally inaccurate and distort our platform’s architecture and our commitment to user safety,” adding that TikTok has “a strong record of protecting our community while giving users direct and intuitive control over their content experience.”
The platform, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, will have an opportunity to respond before the Commission issues a final decision. If the findings are upheld, regulators said fines could reach up to 6 percent of TikTok’s global annual turnover.
A pattern of escalating EU scrutiny
Friday’s order is the latest in a series of DSA enforcement actions against TikTok. In February, the Commission found that the platform had not adequately assessed how addictive features could harm the physical and mental well-being of users, including minors and vulnerable adults. In July, Brussels accused TikTok of exposing children to risks including cyberbullying and predatory behaviour.
The same month, the Commission ordered Meta to change the recommendation feeds on Facebook and Instagram following a separate DSA investigation into those platforms.
The broader regulatory environment across Europe has hardened around children’s exposure to social media. France, Spain and England have each moved to restrict access for minors, and several countries have introduced outright bans for children below the age of 15, citing concerns over predatory behaviour, cyberbullying, deteriorating mental health and eating disorders.
TikTok’s response to the latest findings sets up a formal adversarial process under the DSA, with the Commission’s final ruling likely to test both the reach of the legislation and the platform’s willingness to restructure one of its most commercially central features.