EU says TikTok fails to protect minors

BRUSSELS – The European Commission has concluded that TikTok is not doing enough to protect minors, saying the platform's privacy settings expose young users to unnecessary risks.

According to the Commission, videos posted by 16- and 17-year-olds can still be recommended to other users, while profiles and profile photos remain easy to find. This increases the risk of unwanted contact with strangers, cyberbullying, and long-term consequences from content shared online.

The EU is urging TikTok to change its settings so that minors' content is visible only to users they have approved and to stop recommending videos created by minors.

TikTok will first have the opportunity to respond to the findings. If the European Commission is not satisfied, the company could face a fine of up to 6% of its global annual revenue, potentially amounting to billions of euros. TikTok is also under a separate EU investigation over features considered highly addictive to users.