EU Finds TikTok Violates Minor Privacy Rules

The European Commission preliminarily found TikTok’s default account settings for minors do not meet the bloc’s safety standards, exposing teens to potential contact from adults and predatory behavior. It highlighted that minors’ accounts can be public by default, making their content visible and potentially enabling risky interactions. The commission also noted that teen accounts’ private mode is easy to override, and that profile pictures and follower lists could let outsiders infer ages. In addition, the EU warned that TikTok’s recommendation algorithms could surface teen content to a broader audience, increasing exposure to potential harm. If the findings are upheld, TikTok could face penalties, including a fine of up to 6% of its global annual turnover, and the company has been given a chance to respond in writing. This action follows earlier EU concerns about addictive design features and broader online-safety probes under the Digital Services Act.