TikTok Faces EU DSA Findings Over Mental Health Risks
Tap “not interested” all you want. Brussels says TikTok’s feed may not be listening.
The European Commission said on Nov. 6 that its preliminary findings indicated that TikTok had breached the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) by failing to adequately assess and address mental health risks associated with its personalized For You feed.
At issue is whether users can meaningfully control their recommendations when viewing time outweighs explicit requests to see less of certain content.
According to the Commission’s preliminary findings, the platform repeatedly recommends videos about sadness, isolation, weight loss, and body image based on users’ engagement. Prolonged exposure to such content could worsen anxiety, low self-esteem, and existing eating disorders, particularly among minors and vulnerable adults.
The Commission’s investigation examined how TikTok interprets user engagement. Watching or liking certain videos signals interest to the algorithm, which then recommends more similar content. However, regulators warn that this approach...
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