EU charges TikTok over child safety settings under tech rules

BRUSSELS: European Union regulators have accused TikTok of violating the bloc’s online content rules, saying features in the platform’s design may leave children vulnerable to cyberbullying and contact from abusers.

The European Commission, which enforces the EU’s tech laws, said on Friday that its preliminary findings under the Digital Services Act showed shortcomings in how TikTok protects younger users. The case is the fourth set of allegations the company has faced in two years under EU scrutiny.

According to the Commission, TikTok allows children to set their accounts to public, making their content visible to others and potentially exposing them to harmful contact or bullying. It also said that even where an account is private, minors can still be located through the following and followers lists of other users, including by people who do not have a TikTok account.

The Commission said TikTok should change the default settings for minors’ public accounts so that content is visible only to TikTok users accepted by the child unless the settings are actively changed.

TikTok said it would study the EU’s findings and continue engaging with the regulator. In a statement, the company said teenage users already receive multiple built-in protections when they open an account.

Attributing its position to expert input, TikTok said:

Teen accounts on TikTok have more than 50 preset privacy and safety features, informed by experts, from the moment they set up an account,

The company further said:

Under 18 accounts are private by default and we are one of the only platforms where younger teens cannot use direct messaging or have their content eligible to appear in the For You feed,

TikTok now has the opportunity to review the Commission’s file and submit a response before the EU watchdog reaches a final decision. Any eventual ruling could include a penalty of up to 6% of the company’s global annual turnover.

EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said the law requires platforms to build protections for minors into the structure of their services rather than leaving safety measures as optional settings.

In a statement, Virkkunen said:

The Digital Services Act requires platforms to build protections for minors into the design of their services, and holds them to account when they fail to do so,

A high level of protection should not be an opt-in; it should be the default.