Social media: EU takes action against “rabbit hole” effect – Tiktok faces punishment

Brussels. The EU Commission has provisionally concluded that the video platform Tiktok violates EU law because of the design of its algorithm and the endless stream of personalized content it generates. The EU Commission announced this on Friday.

Specifically, she checked whether the Tiktok parent company Bytedance was creating a so-called rabbit hole effect. This describes the phenomenon of becoming so immersed in social media content that you forget about time and the outside world. The EU sees this as a threat to the mental health of users, who are predominantly young people.

It is not the only case against the Chinese technology group Bytedance. The EU Commission also considers the design of the Tiktok platform to be illegal. A process for this is already underway. If both proceedings are decided against the company, Bytedance could face penalties of up to six percent of its global annual turnover under the EU digital law. Other proceedings are also ongoing.

The Digital Services Act (DSA) stipulates that a social media provider must adequately review and limit the risks arising from the use of its platforms. According to the EU Commission, Tiktok has not done this satisfactorily.