European Commission urged to invoke digital law against TikTok News
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European Commission urged to invoke digital law against TikTok

Amnesty International on Friday urged the European Commission to enforce the Digital Services Act (DSA) against TikTok’s addictive design and improve the safety of the social media platform.

Lisa Dittmer, a researcher for the rights group, stated:

Amidst current discussions of restrictions on children’s access to social media platforms, governments must remember they also have a duty to protect children’s right to participate in the digital world. To do so, their focus must be on tackling the toxic design of leading social media platforms, including through effectively enforcing laws like the Digital Services Act, as opposed to restricting children’s rights.

The rights group’s statement comes after the European Commission preliminarily found on Friday that TikTok was in breach of the DSA, an EU regulation that sets rules for online services, such as social media, to generate a digital sphere that respects and protects citizens’ and consumers’ fundamental rights.

In the commission’s view, the constant presentation of novel content and particular characteristics, such as “infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and its highly personalised recommender system,” encourages devoted use of TikTok.

TikTok has illustrated that its recommender system is an algorithm responsible for the “For You” feed that suggests content based on user interactions, such as following an account, liking a post, or watching particular content for a certain length of time. The commission stated that this type of algorithm prompts users to keep scrolling, shifting users’ brains into “autopilot mode,” reducing users’ control, and encouraging compulsive behavior.

The European Commission concluded that TikTok has not fully appreciated and evaluated how these features negatively impact “the physical and mental wellbeing of its users, including minors and vulnerable adults.” The commission also highlighted that TikTok’s current measures to alleviate the harm caused by its addictive design are ineffective, noting that screentime management tools are “easy to dismiss and introduce limited friction” and parental controls “require additional time and skills from parents” in order to be introduced.

To mitigate the risks, the commission proposed that TikTok must “change the basic design of its service … by disabling key addictive features such as ‘infinite scroll’ over time, implementing effective ‘screen time breaks’, including during the night, and adapting its recommender system.”

Amnesty International France previously found that the TikTok rabbit holes propelled young people towards suicidal content. Likewise, European Commission Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkkunen stated, “[S]ocial media addiction can have detrimental effects on the developing minds of children and teens. The Digital Services Act makes platforms responsible for the effects they can have on their users.”

The commission’s preliminary findings on TikTok’s addictive design are part of its ongoing investigation regarding TikTok’s compliance with the Digital Services Act, which was launched on February 19, 2024. Additionally, the commission preliminarily concluded in October that TikTok was in breach of the DSA regarding its failure to grant researchers access to public data.

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