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EU Issues Preliminary Finding That TikTok’s Design Breaches the Digital Services Act

Regulators propose disabling infinite scroll with stricter screen‑time breaks pending TikTok’s formal response.

Overview

  • The European Commission’s preliminary assessment says features like infinite scroll, autoplay and personalized feeds foster compulsive use, especially for minors and vulnerable adults.
  • Proposed remedies include phasing out infinite scroll, enforcing effective screen‑time breaks including at night, and adapting TikTok’s recommender systems.
  • TikTok has rejected the assessment as false and says it will challenge the case, which now moves into a review and defense phase.
  • Failure to satisfy the Commission could result in fines of up to 6% of global annual revenue and orders to redesign key engagement features under the DSA.
  • The action is the Commission’s first legal stance on social‑media design and may shape parallel probes into Meta’s Facebook and Instagram.