EU finds TikTok ‘addictive’ in digital law probe, 6% fine looms for ByteDance
European Commission cites TikTok’s ‘highly personalised’ system, slams safeguards as ineffective
TikTok’s “addictive design” has been found to violate EU digital laws – in a move that could land the Chinese-owned company a fine of up to 6 per cent of its global revenue.
Preliminary findings of the European Commission investigation, announced on Friday, said the video app’s infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications and “highly personalised” recommender systems had addictive properties.
The European Union’s executive arm said TikTok did not “adequately assess how these addictive features could harm the physical and mental well-being of its users, including minors and vulnerable adults”.
By “constantly rewarding the users with new content”, TikTok “fuels the urge to keep scrolling and shifts the brain of users into ‘autopilot mode’”, the commission said, pointing to scientific research linking this to compulsive behaviour and loss of self-control among users.