TikTok's 'addictive design' found to violate EU laws

"Social media addiction can have detrimental effects on the developing minds of children and teens," European Commission vice-president Henna Virkkunen said on Friday. 

"In Europe, we enforce our legislation to protect our children and our citizens online," she said. 

The allegedly addictive design features included "infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and its highly personalised recommender system", the commission said. 

According to the preliminary findings, TikTok has failed to "adequately assess how these addictive features could harm the physical and mental wellbeing of its users, including minors and vulnerable adults". 

TikTok can now reply to the conclusions to exercise its right of defence, the commission said. 

Should the allegations be confirmed by the commission, it may impose a fine of up to six per cent of the total global annual turnover. 

The constant flow of new content puts "the brain of users into 'autopilot mode'" which "may lead to compulsive behaviour and reduce users' self-control", the commission said. 

TikTok also disregards "important indicators of compulsive use of the app, such as the time that minors spend on TikTok at night, the frequency with which users open the app, and other potential indicators". 

Mitigation measures like screen time management tools and parental control tools were ineffective, the commission said. 

The social media platform would have to "change the basic design of its service" to comply with legislation through "disabling key addictive features such as 'infinite scroll' over time, implementing effective 'screen time breaks," including during the night, and adapting its recommender system". 

The investigation is taking place under the Digital Services Act, a set of powerful EU laws governing social media and technology companies operating in the bloc. 

The commission has been evaluating the compliance of several social media platforms with the legislation since the DSA entered into force in 2022. 

In December the commission imposed a first fine of $US141.5 million ($A202.8 million) under the act on Elon Musk's platform X for transparency violations. 

The US government criticised the decision, speaking of censorship and issuing travel bans against an former European commissioner and other individuals. 

Australian Associated Press