EU Accuses TikTok of 'Addictive Design', Orders Changes
The European Union's executive arm, the European Commission, has accused popular social media platform TikTok of infringing the bloc's digital safety laws due to its 'addictive design'. The Commission has demanded changes in the app's fundamental design to make it less addictive and to ensure the protection of vulnerable users, particularly children and adults. The Chinese-owned app could face a fine of up to 6% of its global revenue if it fails to comply.
Background and Context
TikTok, known for its bite-sized videos, has come under scrutiny due to its design features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and personalised recommender systems. According to the EU's preliminary findings, these features create a 'compulsive' behaviour among users and put their brains into an 'autopilot mode'. The Commission believes that these features infringe the Digital Services Act (DSA) and has expressed concerns particularly for children and vulnerable adults.
Key Developments
The European Commission's preliminary investigation, announced on Friday, found that TikTok's 'addictive design' violated EU digital laws. The specific features in the viewer are 'scrolling', which is the continuous scrolling of content within its application, the automatic launch of videos, and the repeated sending of push notifications,
stated a report by Le Monde.
The EU wants TikTok to change the basic design of its service, including disabling some of its core features. Failure to make these changes could land the company a substantial fine of up to 6% of its global revenue, according to the South China Morning Post.
Reactions and Responses
TikTok has strongly rejected the accusations, calling them categorically false and entirely meritless
. The company said in a statement, The Commission's preliminary findings present a categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform, and we will take whatever steps are necessary to challenge these findings through every means available to us.
The statement was reported by multiple news outlets, including The Hindu and Al Jazeera English.
Virkkunen, the vice-president of the Commission, emphasised the need to protect children, as reported by ANSA. The EU's allegations against TikTok have escalated the ongoing war on digital platforms, with the bloc targeting the addictive design of social media apps, according to Clarin.
Current Status
As the situation stands, TikTok is under pressure to amend its design or face significant fines under the EU's digital content rules. The decision has sparked a strong reaction from the Chinese-owned platform, which has pledged to challenge the findings of the European Commission's probe. The final decision on the matter is awaited, and it remains to be seen how TikTok will navigate this complex regulatory landscape in Europe.