EU Commission faults TikTok's «For You» feed

The European Commission accuses TikTok of not sufficiently protecting users against distressing content loops in the personalised «For You» feed. In preliminary findings dated 6 November 2026, it sees a violation of the Digital Services Act. Minors and vulnerable adults are said to be particularly at risk. TikTok rejects the account.

At the centre is not a single prohibited video but the repeated recommendation of similar content. Anyone who watches videos about sadness, isolation or their own body image for longer, or marks them with «like», may receive more and more of them. According to the Commission's assessment, this amplification can intensify psychological strain. A final decision on the legal violation has not yet been taken.

When viewing counts as approval

The complaint concerns the logic of the recommendation system. The Commission describes that the algorithm interprets usage time and interactions as positive signals of interest. With repeated viewing of, for example, videos about weight loss, a continuous chain of similar recommendations can emerge. The authority speaks of a «rabbit-hole effect» – a slide into recurring themes.

Such a risk assessment does not mean that any use of TikTok makes people ill or that all videos about mental health would be harmful. The findings relate to how the system selects content and which strains repeated recommendations can trigger. The Commission cites, among other things, increased sadness and anxiety, lower self-esteem and a possible worsening of existing eating disorders.

By its own account, the authority bases its preliminary assessment on internal data and documents, TikTok's risk reports and responses to requests for information, scientific literature and conversations with experts. Experts for recommendation systems, psychology and psychiatry were also involved, it says. The Irish regulator Coimisiún na Meán supported the investigation.

«Not interested» should carry more weight

TikTok has already introduced tools for content control. According to the Commission's preliminary assessment, however, these are not sufficient. It criticises both the mixing in of other content and the effect of the «Not interested» button. Viewing time weighs more heavily in the system than the explicit decision to see certain content less often.

Brussels therefore considers changes to the feed necessary. As examples, the Commission cites more weight for explicitly stated preferences, dropping viewing time as a recommendation signal, easier-to-use control tools and regular tests of the algorithm. These are the authority's demands at this stage of the proceedings, not an already jointly agreed redesign of the app.

TikTok described the findings to the news agency AP as fundamentally incorrect. They distorted the platform's architecture and its commitment to safety, it said. The company points to its safeguards and to giving users direct and intuitive control over their content.