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EU Orders TikTok to Rein In Addictive Design or Risk Heavy DSA Fines

The action signals a shift toward forcing product-level changes to protect minors under the EU’s Digital Services Act.

Overview

  • TikTok faces a preliminary EU finding that its infinite scroll, autoplay and hyper‑personalized recommendations foster compulsive use, especially among 12‑ to 15‑year‑olds.
  • The Commission is pressing for concrete fixes such as effective screen‑time pauses, curbs on autoplay, adjustments to recommendations and ending endless feeds.
  • Noncompliance could trigger penalties of up to 6% of TikTok’s global turnover under the DSA, with additional coercive measures possible if changes are not implemented.
  • TikTok called the assessment categorically false and vowed to challenge it, while retaining the option to modify features during the ongoing procedure.
  • In Germany, the CDU will seek party backing for a 16‑plus legal minimum with mandatory age verification, a plan criticized as hard to enforce under EU law as others point to Australia’s under‑16 ban and the European Parliament’s non‑binding 16‑year recommendation.