“ We are committed.” TikTok shares the goal of protecting minors

ANDthis position follows the preliminary conclusions of the European Commission, within the framework of the DSA - Digital Services Act, which accuses TikTok of not protecting enough minors because the accounts he has designed specifically for them do not prevent the content they publish from ending in the hands of “potential aggressors”, i.e. used for cyberbullying.

“ Teenage accounts in TikTok have more than 50 predefined privacy and security features, elaborated with the help of experts, from the moment they create the account,” says TikTok's spokesperson, in a note sent to the essays.

The accounts of children under 18 years of age “are private by default and we are one of the only platforms where younger adolescents cannot use direct messages or have their content eligible to appear in the feed ‘For you’,” continues the same source.

In this sense, “protecting minors online” is a goal that we share and are committed to continuing our solid history of continuous improvement. We will examine these preliminary conclusions as we continue to work constructively with the Commission”, the same source adds.

The European Commission today accused the Chinese platform of sharing small TikTok videos of not ensuring an adequate level of privacy, security and protection in child accounts in a possible violation of the DSA.

According to the European Commission, TikTok’s account definitions “expose the accounts and contents of minors too widely”, in particular allowing them to opt for making their accounts public and for user content between the ages of 16 and 17 to be recommended to other users through a custom section.

The Community executive therefore considers that TikTok should adjust the predefined definitions of the public accounts of minors so that the contents are by default visible only to users whom the minor has accepted.

Preliminary conclusions are the result of a thorough investigation that included the analysis of the interface, internal data and TikTok documents, as well as interviews with security forces agents and experts in child protection, child abuse and neuropsychology.

The formal investigation into compliance with the TikTok Digital Services Regulation was launched in February 2024 and also covers the potentially additive design of the platform, for which the European Commission adopted preliminary conclusions in February this year.

The process also covers the so-called “rabbit effect” (a situation in which a user begins to see a certain content and, through the platform’s automatic recommendations, is progressively conducted to other content) of TikTok’s recommendation systems and the risk that minors will have an inadequate experience of their age due to an incorrect representation of their age.

Research on these issues is ongoing and the conclusions presented today do not prejudice the final outcome of the investigation.

TikTok can now consult the documents of the case and respond in writing to the European Commission.

If the position is confirmed, Brussels may adopt a non-compliance decision and impose a fine which may reach 6% of the company’s worldwide annual turnover.

The DSA shall establish obligations for platforms operating in the European Union, including measures to ensure a high level of privacy, security and protection of minors.