EU says TikTok recommendation feed traps users in harmful rabbit holes
Original title: EU accuses TikTok of trapping users in harmful ‘rabbit holes’
Preliminary Digital Services Act findings are not final; confirmation could bring a fine of up to 6% of global revenue.
The European Commission said Friday that TikTok failed to stop its For You algorithm from repeatedly recommending legal content about sadness, self-harm and body image. Officials said investigators found TikTok’s risk analysis and safeguards inadequate, and that feed-diversification tools do not break the loops. TikTok can review the evidence. This is the Commission’s third TikTok DSA case this year and helped shape the proposed KIDS Act.
Unconfirmed: The findings are preliminary, TikTok has not commented, and any fine applies only if the violations are confirmed.
- Officials called it the first EU challenge to a major platform’s engagement-based recommender.
- Investigators analysed about 20,000 videos with mental-health and system-design experts.
- The Commission wants recommendations based on explicit preferences, not watch time.
- Earlier 2026 cases covered addictive design in February and minor-account protections in July.
- TikTok and parent ByteDance do not publish global revenue.
- Vendors
- ByteDance
- Products
- TikTok
- Organizations
- European Commission
From the original article
4 min read at therecord.mediaThe European Commission accused TikTok on Friday of failing to prevent its recommendation algorithm from drawing users into “rabbit holes” of content about sadness, self-harm and body image.
therecord.media
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