The European Union accuses TikTok of promoting addiction and violating its digital rules

The European Union on Friday stepped up scrutiny of TikTok, accusing the platform of breaching the bloc's digital rules by incorporating design elements that encourage compulsive use. In a preliminary assessment published by the European Commission, officials pointed to different features such as infinite scrolling, video autoplay, push notifications and TikTok's highly personalized recommendations algorithm as elements designed to keep users connected for prolonged periods without adequate safeguards.

As reported by the Commission, TikTok did not sufficiently assess how these mechanisms could affect the mental and physical well-being of users, especially younger users, or take sufficient steps to mitigate such risks. The report also suggests that the parental controls and usage time management tools offered by the platform prove insufficient.

"Social media addiction can have detrimental effects on the developing minds of children and adolescents," said the executive vice president of the Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy. The official also stressed that accountability is a central principle of the European regulatory framework, explaining, "The Digital Services Act holds platforms accountable for the effects they can have on their users. In Europe, we enforce our legislation to protect our children and our citizens online."

The new finger-pointing against TikTok comes amid broader legal pressure against social networking companies over allegations of deliberately designing addictive products for children. TikTok recently settled a lawsuit with such finger-pointing, as did Snap, Snapchat's parent company, shortly before the case went to trial.