EU says TikTok's For You feed likely breaks the Digital Services Act
The European Commission said on Friday, November 6, that TikTok's For You feed likely breaches the Digital Services Act because it can pull users into "rabbit holes" of content about sadness, isolation and body image. The Commission wants TikTok to change how the feed works, and a confirmed breach could cost the company up to 6 percent of its worldwide annual turnover.
What the Commission found
The findings are preliminary. They cover two areas: how TikTok assessed the risks its feed creates, and what it did to reduce them.
On the first, the Commission says TikTok did not properly assess how its recommendation algorithm can lead people into rabbit holes. The feed uses engagement, such as watching and liking videos, to decide what to show next. According to the Commission, when someone keeps watching or liking content about weight loss or body image, the system reads that as interest and serves more of the same.
The Commission says repeated exposure of this kind can increase sadness, anxiety and body dissatisfaction, lower self-esteem and worsen existing eating disorders and other mental health conditions. It says vulnerable adults and minors are most at risk.
On the second, the Commission says TikTok's existing safeguards don't work well enough. Its efforts to diversify recommendations don't sufficiently cut how often similar content appears, and its controls don't give users real say over their feed. The Commission says tapping "not interested" may not be enough to change what the feed shows, because the algorithm gives more weight to viewing time than to a user's request to see less of something.
"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
What the EU wants TikTok to change
The Commission says that, at this stage, TikTok needs to redesign the For You feed. Its examples:
- rely more on what users explicitly say they want to see;
- stop using viewing time as a signal for recommendations;
- make user controls easier to find and use;
- test the algorithm regularly.
TikTok rejected the findings. "The Commission has made a series of statements that are fundamentally inaccurate," the company said in a statement to Reuters, as reported by Engadget.
What happens next
TikTok can now examine the documents in the Commission's investigation files and reply in writing. The European Board for Digital Services will also be consulted. If the Commission confirms its view, it can issue a non-compliance decision with a fine of up to 6 percent of TikTok's total worldwide annual turnover.
This is the latest step in a formal investigation into TikTok under the Digital Services Act. The Commission issued preliminary findings on addictive design in February 2026 and on the protection of minors in July 2026. It says it based the new findings on TikTok's risk assessment reports, internal data and documents, scientific research and interviews with experts in recommender systems, psychology and psychiatry. Ireland's Digital Services Coordinator, Coimisiún na Meán, supported the investigation.
What it means for you
Nothing changes in the TikTok app yet. Preliminary findings are not a final decision, and the Commission says they don't prejudge the outcome. If the EU ultimately orders changes, people in the EU could get a For You feed that leans more on stated preferences and less on how long they linger on a video.
In the meantime, the Commission's own findings suggest that the "not interested" button alone may not reset a feed that has drifted toward content you don't want. Parents of teenagers on TikTok in particular may want to keep an eye on the case, since the Commission singles out minors as among the most exposed.