TikTok May Change Forever: European Commission Criticizes Addictive Design

SÉRVULO PUBLICATIONS 09 Feb 2026

On February 6, 2026, the European Commission preliminarily concluded that TikTok violates the Digital Services Act (DSA) due to its addictive design, which integrates features such as infinite scrolling, autoplay, push notifications, and a highly personalized recommendation system. The Commission’s investigation indicates that TikTok failed to carry out an adequate risk assessment, neglecting to identify the impact of these features on the physical and mental well-being of its users, including minors and vulnerable adults. According to the Commission, the continuous content presentation mechanism encourages compulsive usage patterns, placing users in “auto-pilot mode” and reducing their self?control.

The Commission also notes that TikTok did not consider relevant indicators of compulsive use, such as nighttime usage by minors, app opening frequency, and other signals that should form part of a comprehensive risk assessment. In this regard, TikTok appears to have failed to implement reasonable and effective measures to mitigate the risks associated with the platform’s design, particularly:

i) the current screen time management tools and parental controls prove insufficient, as they are easy to bypass and rely heavily on parental intervention; and

ii) the need to modify the structural design of the service, including progressively disabling infinite scrolling, implementing effective screen time breaks (including during nighttime hours), and adapting the recommendation system.

These preliminary conclusions form part of the formal proceedings initiated on February 19, 2024, which also cover the functioning of recommendation systems, the risk of inappropriate experiences for minors due to misrepresented ages, obligations related to the protection of minors and researcher access to public data (with preliminary findings adopted in October 2025), as well as issues concerning advertising transparency. These aspects result from an in-depth investigation including document analysis, internal data, multiple requests for information, an extensive review of scientific research, and interviews with specialists, including experts in behavioral addiction.

TikTok now has the right to defend itself, consult the case file, and submit a written response to the preliminary findings. The European Board for Digital Services will also be consulted. If these findings are confirmed, the Commission may adopt a non?compliance decision, subjecting the company to a fine of up to 6% of its global annual turnover, considering the nature, seriousness, recurrence, and duration of the infringement.

Finally, the Commission notes that these findings may extend to other platforms with features similar to TikTok’s, such as Instagram or Facebook, whenever they make use of infinite scrolling, autoplay, intensive notifications, and highly personalized algorithms. These platforms may be required to alter their design, introduce usage breaks, moderate notifications, and adjust recommendation systems, or risk facing substantial fines.

Ana Ferreira Neves | afn@servulo.com

Maria Miguel Carvalho | mmc@servulo.com