TikTok’s Child Safety Settings Violate the DSA, EU Probe Finds

In Focus

• The EU said TikTok’s child safety settings expose minors to online harassment
• The EU could fine TikTok up to 6% of its global annual turnover for DSA violation
• EU’s online safety probe on TikTok started in 2024

A probe by the European Union has found that TikTok’s child safety settings do not comply with the Digital Services Act (DSA). EU’s preliminary findings showed that the features in the video-streaming platform might expose under-age users to cyberbullying, unwanted contact and predatory behaviour. The EU accused TikTok of inadequate safety settings for minors as the platform works on an age-verification system for the region.

What Charges Has the EU Brought Against TikTok?

According to the European Commission, TikTok allows underage users to make their accounts public. This allows other users to view their posts and potentially exposes them to online harassment and unwanted content.

Regulators also found the safety of private TikTok accounts to be inadequate because they can be discovered easily through other users’ “following” and “followers” lists. People who have not signed up on TikTok can also find the accounts.

According to regulators, features like infinite scrolling and autoplay could harm users’ mental and physical health. At the time, the social media platform rejected the findings, arguing that it provides tools like screen time limits and sleep reminders that enable users to make intentional choices on how they use the app.

The Commission wants TikTok to change the automatic settings for underage public accounts to ensure that content is only visible to users who are accepted by children by default.

“The Digital Services Act requires platforms to build protections for minors into the design of their services, and holds them to account when they fail to do so. A high level of protection should not be an opt-in; it should be the default,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said as cited by CNBC.

TikTok to Review to EU’s Findings

TikTok plans to review the findings of the EU’s ByteDance investigation and partner with the regulator to address the issues. The social media platform will submit a response to the EU before the regulator reaches a final decision.

“Teen accounts on TikTok have more than 50 preset privacy and safety features, informed by experts, from the moment they set up an account. Under 18 accounts are private by default and we are one of the only platforms where younger teens cannot use direct messaging or have their content eligible to appear in the For You feed,” TikTok said.

This is not the first time an EU probe has found TikTok in violation of the bloc’s online content rules. Earlier this year, the Commission found that the video-streaming platform’s addictive design breached the DSA.

What Next for TikTok?

If the EU determines that TikTok violated the rules, it could impose a fine of up to 6% of the company’s global annual turnover. Previously, the social media platform has avoided penalties by offering commitments to address the concerns raised by the Commission. EU tech regulators have been investigating TikTok’s compliance with the DSA since February 2024.