The European Commission has accused TikTok of sending some users down ‘rabbit holes’ of posts focused on sadness, isolation or body types.
In its “preliminary” findings – published today – following an investigation into the social media platform, the European Commission said that it believes TikTok is in breach of the Digital Services Act over the way its recommendation system can lead users into repeated streams of similar content, including videos related to mental health struggles and obsession over body types.
The Commission said the platform’s “For You” feed uses signals such as watching and liking videos to tailor recommendations. If users engage with potentially triggering material, including weight-loss content, the system may interpret that activity as interest and show them more of the same.
The European Commission warns that repeated exposure could affect wellbeing, contributing to anxiety, sadness, body dissatisfaction or lower self-esteem, and potentially worsening existing eating disorders or mental health conditions.
It said the risks may be especially serious for minors and vulnerable adults.
Its preliminary assessment also questions whether TikTok’s safeguards are effective. The Commission said tools intended to diversify recommendations do not sufficiently reduce the frequency of similar content, while the “not interested” button may not reliably change what appears in a user’s feed. It said the system gives greater weight to viewing time than to users’ expressed preferences.
Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s Executive Vice President for Tech Sovereignty said users could be led into “rabbit holes they cannot easily escape from”.
She added that TikTok “needs to step up its efforts to protect users’ well-being”.
But TikTok has rejected the European Commission’s findings. In a statement a spokesperson for the company said:
“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 European Commission said TikTok should rely more on users’ explicit preferences, reduce the role of viewing time in recommendations, make controls easier to use and regularly test its algorithm.
The findings do not prejudge the EU’s final decision, but if the Commission ultimately confirms a breach of EU law, it could issue impose a fine on the social media giant up to 6 percent of TikTok’s worldwide annual turnover, potentially billions of Euro.
The European Commission has invited TikTok to examine its investigation file and submit a written response.
TikTok’s European headquarters are in Dublin, so the company must follow Irish law and is subject to the Irish regulator, Coimisiún na Meán.
In a statement, Coimisiún na Meán said:
“Diving down an online rabbit hole can have a negative impact on a person’s mental health and wellbeing, especially if they are a child. Online safety rules are in place across Europe to ensure that people are not harmed by the things they see online or by the design of online platforms. With the European Commission, we have shared responsibility for ensuring that the largest platforms follow the rules.
Today, the European Commission has published preliminary findings from our joint investigation into TikTok for possible breaches of the EU Digital Services Act. These preliminary findings include a view that TikTok put its users’ wellbeing at risk by failing to adequately assess how its recommendation algorithm could lead people into online rabbit holes.
As part of this investigation, staff from Coimisiún na Meán conducted experiments and testing related to the rabbit hole effect and worked with the European Commission team on the labelling of the data produced.
If these preliminary findings are confirmed, a fine proportionate to the nature, gravity, recurrence and duration of the infringement can be imposed, up to a maximum of 6 precent of the total worldwide annual turnover of the provider.”