EU OPENS CHILD SAFETY CASE AGAINST TIKTOK OVER ALGORITHM

The European Commission has announced preliminary findings that TikTok may have breached the Digital Services Act by allowing content from minors to be algorithmically recommended on its "For You" feed. According to the Commission, 16 and 17 year-olds on TikTok can choose public-facing profiles, which enables their content to be recommended worldwide. The EU said this exposes minors to unwanted contact and increased cyberbullying risk. The Commission based its findings on analysis of TikTok's interface, internal data, documents, and interviews with law enforcement and child protection experts.

The investigation, launched in early 2024, also examined the platform's potential addictive design and data access practices. A separate inquiry into TikTok's advertising transparency was closed in December after binding commitments from the company. The Commission noted that minors' profile photographs remain publicly accessible even on private accounts, and their followers and following lists can be used to locate them. The EU said minors face potential lifelong consequences when their content circulates widely online, as such material is rarely fully removed from the internet.

If found in breach of the law, TikTok faces fines of up to 6 per cent of its global annual turnover. The Commission has called for TikTok to change default settings so minors' content is visible only to followers, and to prevent the algorithm from recommending minors' content to other users. Older minors should have the option of public accounts, but their content should not reach a global audience, the Commission stated. The case is proceeding as a formal enforcement action.