EU says TikTok must change its For You recommendation feed

The Commission said Friday that TikTok’s algorithm may breach the EU’s online platform rules by driving users toward repeated exposure to similar material. It is calling for changes to the For You feed. Penalties could reach 6 percent of TikTok’s global annual turnover.

TikTok has introduced controls intended to limit the effect, but regulators said their preliminary assessment found those measures insufficient. The findings follow an earlier Commission declaration that the platform’s design is too “addictive.”

“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,” Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s executive vice president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, said in a press release. She said the preliminary findings showed TikTok needed to do more to protect users’ well-being, including that of minors.

The Commission’s action comes as TikTok also faces pressure in the United States, where lawmakers and a wave of lawsuits have raised child-safety concerns. Since the Digital Services Act took effect in 2023, the EU has pursued alleged violations by several companies, including X, Meta, Temu and AliExpress. Politico reported that this is the first time the Commission has cited a recommendation algorithm as the basis for a breach.