TikTok may be in breach of the European Union’s digital content rulebook, according to the EU’s executive arm, which said it provisionally found that the company’s rules for minors’ accounts don’t meet the bloc’s safety standards.
The European Commission said on Friday that minors can currently choose to set their accounts as “public” on the popular video platform, allowing any user to see their content. That setting also allows content posted by older minors between the ages of 16 and 17 to be recommended through TikTok’s For You feed.
“This feature potentially gives strangers a window into a child’s life,” the commission said in a statement. The regulator said minors’ private accounts could also be found through other users’ follower lists and that TikTok’s settings expose young people to cyberbullying and unwanted contact.
“Teen accounts on TikTok have more than 50 preset privacy and safety features, informed by experts, from the moment they set up an account,” a TikTok spokesperson said. The spokesperson said that under-18 accounts are set to “private” by default.
The commission said TikTok should strengthen its default privacy settings for minors’ accounts. It also said that older minors’ content should not be accessible to an audience outside of the platform and that TikTok should avoid recommending minors’ content to other users via its For You feed.
“Protecting minors online is a goal we share, and we are committed to building on our strong track record of continuous improvement,” the spokesperson said, adding that the company will review the regulator’s initial findings.
It is part of a broader investigation into TikTok under the EU’s Digital Services Act, which obliges companies that run popular digital platforms to do more to protect users from harmful content online, while platforms minors can access should establish a high level of privacy and security. The commission said it provisionally views TikTok’s account settings as failing to meet that standard.
TikTok now has a chance to respond to the commission’s findings. Companies can receive fines of up to 6% of their global annual revenue if the commission ultimately decides they have broken the DSA’s rules.
The commission started investigating TikTok under the DSA in 2024, looking at a range of topics including its algorithmic design. EU officials said in February this year that TikTok may have fallen afoul of the law due to what they see as the app’s potentially addictive design. The company said at the time that the watchdog’s findings present a “categorically false and entirely meritless” view of the platform.
