|
“Children’s content must never be visible to strangers,” he
said. If TikTok does not take steps called for by the European
Union's landmark Digital Services Act, “minors are exposed to
predators, to grooming and to cyberbullying,” Regnier said,
adding that children aged 13 to 15 can “easily” change their
accounts from private to public and the private accounts of
minors aged 16 to 17 can be seen by anyone on the internet. “We
do not accept this,” Regnier said. “Putting default settings for
minors is not a beauty contest under the DSA. It must be
effective.”
The investigation comes on the heels of back-to-back crackdowns
on Big Tech by Brussels, which has led the world in regulating
tech behemoths including Meta and Apple.
TikTok can now defend itself and reply to the findings. If
unsatisfied with the Chinese firm’s response, the European
Commission could issue a so-called non-compliance decision and
possible fine worth up to 6% of the company’s total annual
revenue.
The Chinese social media firm, whose parent company ByteDance is
based in Beijing, said in a statement it would review Brussels'
findings and “continue to engage constructively with the
Commission.”
“Protecting minors online is a goal we share, and we are
committed to building on our strong track record of continuous
improvement,” TikTok said in a statement.
If unsatisfied with the firm’s response, the commission could
issue a so-called non-compliance decision and possible fine
worth up to 6% of the company’s total annual revenue.
The commission estimates most of TikTok's 170 million users in
the EU are children, with 7% of children aged 12 to 15 spending
four to five hours daily on the app.
The 27-nation European Union found in February that TikTok had
breached another aspect of its digital rule book with an
“addictive design” of features such as autoplay and infinite
scrolling that could harm the physical and mental health of
users and minors especially.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
|
|
