EU charges TikTok over leading users into harmful ‘rabbit holes’

The European Commission has found that TikTok violated the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) by using its recommendation algorithm to lead users into content “rabbit holes.”

The Commission said that the platform's “For You” feed can repeatedly recommend videos on harmful topics, including those related to mental health struggles and body image, leading to the EU making charges against TikTok for the alleged rule violations.

In its preliminary findings, the Commission said TikTok’s algorithm recommends increasingly similar content based on how users interact with videos. The system can then encourage users to repeatedly engage with potentially harmful content, including videos about sadness, isolation, and body image. The Commission noted particular concern about the effects on minors.

“The Commission preliminarily found that TikTok did not adequately assess how its recommendation algorithm may lead users into such ‘rabbit holes', putting their wellbeing at risk,” the Commission said in its findings. “The preliminary findings show that the algorithm design may play an important role in the emergence of ‘rabbit holes'. The algorithm uses information about user engagement, such as watching and liking videos, to personalise the content recommended to them. For example, when a user repeatedly watches or likes content that may be triggering, such as content about weight-loss or body image, the system interprets these interactions as positive signs of interest and recommends more of the same. Repeated exposure to such content may have serious negative effects on users' wellbeing, including increased feelings of sadness or anxiety, body dissatisfaction, lower self-esteem, or worsening of existing eating disorders and mental conditions.”

The preliminary findings also concluded that TikTok failed to implement “proportionate, reasonable and effective mitigation measures” to address these concerns. It said that measures to recommend diversified content did not “sufficiently reduce how often similar content is recommended, including content related to mental health struggles and body image.”

In response to the findings, the Commission is considering that TikTok should change the design of the “For You” feed, such as relying more on users’ explicit preferences, disabling view time as an indicator for recommended content, and increasing user controls.

Henna Virkkunen, the Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, said the platform must do more to protect users from going down “rabbit holes” of harmful content.

“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,” Virkkunen said. “The Digital Services Act makes platforms responsible for addressing the negative effects related to their recommender system. Today's preliminary findings show again that TikTok needs to step up its efforts to protect users’ well-being, including those of minors.”