The European Union has issued preliminary findings accusing ByteDance-owned TikTok of failing to adequately protect children on its platform, alleging that design features expose younger users to online predators and cyberbullying. If the findings are upheld under the bloc's Digital Services Act (DSA), TikTok could face penalties of up to 6% of the company's annual global revenue.
The case marks the fourth set of allegations the European Commission has brought against TikTok under the DSA, underscoring the bloc's increasingly aggressive enforcement of its digital platform rules. European officials argue that several of TikTok's default account settings for minors do not provide sufficient safeguards for younger users.
Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said the platform's existing protections fall short of the standards required under European law. "Children's content must never be visible to strangers," Regnier told the Associated Press.
Regnier said officials are particularly concerned that users between the ages of 13 and 15 can "easily" switch their accounts from private to public, while the private accounts of users aged 16 and 17 can still be viewed by anyone. "We do not accept this," he told the AP. "Putting default settings for minors is not a beauty contest under the DSA. It must be effective."
TikTok rejected the implication that it lacks meaningful protections, telling Reuters that it intends to examine the Commission's findings while continuing to cooperate with regulators. "Teen accounts on TikTok have more than 50 preset privacy and safety features, informed by experts, from the moment they set up an account," the company said. "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."
The Associated Press reported that TikTok will have an opportunity to formally respond to the preliminary findings before the Commission reaches a final decision. If regulators conclude that the company's response is insufficient, they may issue a non-compliance ruling that carries financial penalties of up to 6% of ByteDance's annual revenue.
The dispute highlights the European Union's broader effort to tighten oversight of major technology companies through the Digital Services Act. According to the EU, "The main goal of the DSA is to create a digital space that respects citizens and consumers' fundamental rights." The bloc also says the legislation establishes a common regulatory framework that enables "smaller platforms, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups to scale up in Europe, fostering innovation, growth and competitiveness."
TikTok's case follows several recent high-profile enforcement actions against large technology companies operating in Europe. Earlier this month:
- The EU fined AliExpress $625 million for failing to "assess and mitigate risks relating to the sale of illegal, unsafe or counterfeit products on its e-commerce platform."
- Google received two fines totaling $1 billion after regulators found the company in non-compliance for "self-preferencing its own services on Google Search, and for putting in place restrictions on businesses to direct consumers to alternative, often cheaper, purchase channels on Google Play (steering)."
- X avoided financial penalties after the European Commission accepted "X's action plan to comply with transparency obligations and researchers' access to data, under the Digital Services Act."
