The European Commission has preliminarily determined that TikTok fails to meet the required safety standards for minors’ accounts. The Brussels authority announced on Friday that the platform is in violation of the Digital Services Act because it does not ensure secure account settings for younger users. Specifically, the Commission criticized that strangers could view the public user profiles of minors and contact them with malicious intent.
The Commission highlighted that the default settings for TikTok accounts expose minors to risks such as unwanted contact, cyberbullying, and predatory behavior. Even when private account settings are used, minors’ profiles can still be found through the ‘Following’ and ‘Followers’ lists of other users. Consequently, the Commission demands that TikTok modify the default settings of minors’ “public” accounts so that their content is only visible to approved TikTok users.
TikTok now has the opportunity to respond to the Commission’s preliminary findings. If the Commission confirms its stance, it could issue a non-compliance decision, which could result in a fine of up to six percent of the provider’s global annual turnover. This investigation is part of a formal procedure to ensure TikTok adheres to the Digital Services Act.
