The European Commission has warned TikTok that its current account settings for minors may breach the European Union’s digital safety rules, saying children’s profiles and
content are being exposed too widely.
The Commission has sent the platform preliminary findings under the Digital Services Act (DSA), arguing that TikTok’s approach does not provide the level of privacy, safety and security required for young users.
Under TikTok’s current system, minors can choose to make their accounts public, allowing their videos to be viewed by anyone, including people who do not have a TikTok account. Content posted by users aged 16 and 17 can also appear in the platform’s “For You” feed, where it may be recommended to strangers.
EU officials said this could increase the risk of unwanted contact, cyberbullying and possible exploitation by individuals seeking to harm children. They also warned that content shared online can remain available for years, potentially creating long-term consequences for young people.
The Commission said even users who select private accounts are not fully protected. Their profiles can still be discovered through followers’ and following lists, while profile pictures may remain visible to people outside TikTok.
“Account settings are a key element in ensuring minors are safe online,” the Commission said, adding that platforms accessible to children must provide strong privacy and security protections under the DSA.
The EU’s preliminary assessment is that TikTok’s settings do not meet those requirements because they allow minors’ accounts and content to be exposed to a wider audience than necessary.
The Commission said TikTok should change its default settings so that content posted by minors is only visible to users they have approved. While older teenagers may continue to have the option to share content more widely, the EU said their posts should not be available to a global audience outside the platform.
Officials also said TikTok should stop recommending minors’ content to other users through its “For You” feed.
The findings are preliminary and do not represent a final decision. TikTok will now have the opportunity to review the evidence collected by the Commission and respond.
The European Board for Digital Services will also be consulted as the investigation continues.
If the Commission concludes that TikTok has breached the Digital Services Act, the company could face a fine of up to 6% of its worldwide annual turnover.
The investigation forms part of wider EU scrutiny of TikTok’s compliance with digital safety rules, launched in February 2024.
The Commission said its assessment was based on analysis of TikTok’s platform design, internal documents and data, as well as discussions with law enforcement officials and experts in child protection, child abuse prevention and neuropsychology.
The inquiry has also examined other areas, including TikTok’s potentially addictive design features, access to public data for researchers, advertising transparency, recommendation systems and the risk of children receiving age-inappropriate content due to inaccurate age information.
The EU said investigations into those remaining issues are ongoing. Photo by Solen Feyissa, Wikimedia commons.