Today, the European Commission has preliminarily found TikTok in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA) for the so-called ‘rabbit hole effect’ of its recommender system. TikTok’s ‘For You’ feed shows users a continuous stream of personalised videos, even when those are related to mental health struggles and body image.

The more a user interacts with a certain type of content, the more TikTok’s ‘For You’ feed algorithm recommends similar content. This design can be harmful when such endless and repeated exposure involves, for example, content about sadness, isolation or body image. These ‘rabbit holes’ can have a detrimental impact on users’ mental health, especially that of vulnerable adults and minors.

Today’s preliminary findings focus on both risk assessment and mitigation measures.

. . . TikTok now has the possibility to exercise its right to defence. It may examine the documents in the Commission’s investigation files and reply in writing to the Commission’s preliminary findings. In parallel, the European Board for Digital Services will be consulted.

If the Commission’s views are ultimately confirmed, the Commission may issue a non-compliance decision, which can trigger a fine proportionate to the nature, gravity, recurrence and duration of the infringement and reach up to but not more than 6% of the total worldwide annual turnover of the provider.