Commission preliminarily finds TikTok's addictive design in breach of the Digital Services Act

The European Commission has taken a preliminary step in its Digital Services Act (DSA) enforcement, indicating that TikTok's design features may be in breach of the regulation. This development underscores the EU's commitment to scrutinizing digital platforms for potential harms to users, particularly concerning addictive elements. The investigation focuses on how design choices can impact user well-being, signaling a growing regulatory focus on the psychological effects of platform design. Central to the Commission's findings are features like infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and highly personalized recommender systems. The investigation preliminarily suggests TikTok failed to adequately assess the risks associated with these elements, which can foster compulsive usage and negatively affect users, including minors. Concerns are raised that these features may lead to reduced self-control and potentially fuel behavioral addiction by continuously 'rewarding' users with new content. The preliminary assessment also highlights perceived inadequacies in TikTok's risk mitigation measures. The Commission questions the effectiveness of existing screentime management and parental control tools, suggesting they are easily circumvented and require significant parental effort. This indicates a potential need for TikTok to fundamentally alter its service design, such as disabling certain addictive features and implementing more robust screen time breaks, to comply with the DSA.