The European Commission is finalizing a hefty fine for TikTok due to its "addictive design", as Brussels claims. "This includes features such as infinite scrolling, autoplay, push notifications, and its highly personalized recommendation system," they explain at the Commission, and the sanction would be "proportional to the nature, seriousness, repetition, and duration of the infringement and could reach up to a maximum of 6% of the provider's total annual global turnover."
"All of this lacks safety switches. All of this lacks time limits. Everything is recommended indefinitely and keeps you connected. It keeps you on this kind of eternal journey," insist sources from the European Commission, where they are particularly concerned about the use that young people make of this platform.
"We have sufficient evidence to assume that obligations under the Digital Services Act [DSA] have been violated, particularly those related to risk mitigation measures that should be effective when these types of addictive designs exist. Action is necessary because we observe a very high usage of TikTok past midnight, also by minors. There are clear studies indicating that young people between 12 and 15 years old spend too much time on platforms like TikTok," they point out.
And they continue. The Commission cites, for example, "a French parliamentary report showing that 8% of children between 12 and 15 years old spend more than five hours on the platform." They also point to "a Danish study mentioning users as young as eight years old using the platform for an average of about 130 minutes a day, more than two hours," to which they add a third study, this time from Poland, which "indicates that TikTok is the most used platform after midnight by children between 13 and 18 years old."
"The popularity of TikTok in the age group of 7 to 12 years old is especially high during school hours. Approximately one in three children between 7 and 12 years old opens the app more than 20 times a day on average. All these elements are part of the public record and are not based solely on confidential data. There are also data from the WHO," they add.
Brussels explains that the Chinese company "now has the opportunity to exercise its right to defense." "It will be able to examine the documents in the Commission's investigation file and respond in writing to the preliminary findings," they add. And if the EU ultimately confirms its "assessments," it will proceed to sanction TikTok.
The EU's threat comes in the same week that the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has begun a crusade against social media. The Spanish leader has directly targeted X, Facebook, or Telegram, although he has not mentioned TikTok. Spain wants to prohibit minors under 16 from accessing social networks, which Brussels views positively, but the Commission has made it clear that Spain cannot hold the CEOs of companies accountable for the content generated on these platforms, as it desires.
"We focus on the platforms. So, if a CEO algorithmically promotes a political party and reduces the visibility of all others, he does not become directly responsible: the platform is responsible," explained community sources on Wednesday. Additionally, they point out that Spain should not impose additional obligations on these companies, and that the DSA seeks to "harmonize" protection.