EU charges TikTok over addictive For You feed and rabbit hole effect

The European Commission has charged TikTok with breaching the EU’s Digital Services Act over its addictive “For You” recommendation algorithm. Regulators say the system pushes users toward repeated streams of similar content about sadness, isolation, or body image, which can worsen anxiety, body dissatisfaction, and eating disorders, especially among minors and vulnerable adults.

The Commission’s preliminary findings state that TikTok failed to put in place proportionate, reasonable, and effective measures to reduce these risks. EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said every time a user scrolls or likes a video, the algorithm serves more of the same, leading users down rabbit holes they cannot easily escape.

“Every time a user scrolls or likes a video on TikTok, the algorithm serves more of the same, leading users down rabbit holes they cannot easily escape from.”

Brussels is demanding a structural change: TikTok should stop using viewing time as the main indicator for recommendations, give more weight to users’ explicit preferences, and allow its algorithm to be audited. TikTok has a deadline to respond with arguments.

If TikTok does not convince regulators, it risks a fine next year of up to six percent of its global annual turnover. The Commission stressed it is not challenging what TikTok publishes, but how the platform orders content.

TikTok rejected the accusations, calling the Commission’s statements fundamentally inaccurate and saying they distort the platform’s architecture and its commitment to user safety. The company said it has a strong record of protecting its community while giving users direct and intuitive control over their content experience.

The case follows earlier EU scrutiny of TikTok, including the TikTok Lite rewards program that the company withdrew after pressure from Brussels. The change could affect thousands of creators in Spain who rely on the “For You” feed for views.