European Commission preliminarily finds TikTok in breach of Digital Services Act over child account safety

The European Commission has informed TikTok of its preliminary view that the platform is failing to comply with the Digital Services Act (DSA) by not adequately protecting the accounts of minors. The findings focus on the platform’s default account settings, which the Commission believes expose children and teenagers to unnecessary privacy and safety risks.

According to the Commission, minors on TikTok can choose to make their accounts public, allowing anyone—including users without a TikTok account—to view their content. For users aged 16 and 17, publicly shared content may also be recommended to a wider audience through TikTok’s “For You” feed. The Commission argues that these settings increase the risk of unwanted contact, cyberbullying, and predatory behaviour, while also creating the possibility that content shared during childhood remains publicly accessible into adulthood.

The investigation also found that even when minors use private accounts, their profiles can still be identified through followers and following lists, while profile photos remain visible to anyone, including non-registered TikTok users. The Commission considers that these design choices continue to expose minors to privacy and safety risks.

Under the DSA, online platforms that are accessible to minors are required to ensure a high level of privacy, safety, and security by design. The Commission’s preliminary assessment is that TikTok’s current account settings do not meet this obligation. It recommends that public accounts belonging to minors should, by default, limit the visibility of content to approved followers. While older teenagers could still be allowed to expand their audience, the Commission maintains that their content should not be accessible to users outside the platform or be promoted through recommendation systems such as the ‘For You’ feed.

The findings are preliminary and do not represent the final outcome of the investigation. TikTok will have the opportunity to review the Commission’s evidence and submit a written response, while the European Board for Digital Services will also be consulted. Should the Commission ultimately confirm its conclusions, it could issue a formal non-compliance decision and impose a fine of up to 6% of TikTok’s global annual turnover, depending on the severity and duration of the infringement.

The case forms part of the Commission’s broader investigation into TikTok under the Digital Services Act, which began in February 2024. The inquiry has examined several aspects of the platform, including the protection of minors, potentially addictive platform design, researchers’ access to public data, advertising transparency, recommender systems, and age verification practices. The latest preliminary findings are based on an extensive investigation involving analysis of TikTok’s interface and internal documents, as well as consultations with law enforcement officials and experts in child protection and psychology.