European regulators aren't letting TikTok off the hook anymore.
The European Commission dropped a bombshell set of preliminary findings targeting ByteDance’s star app. The core issue? TikTok fails to protect young users from online exposure, leaving kids and teens vulnerable to cyberbullying, unwanted contact, and predators.
If you think this is just another dry regulatory warning, think again. The EU’s landmark Digital Services Act (DSA) carries serious teeth. If TikTok can't fix these fundamental design flaws, it faces penalties reaching up to 6% of its global annual revenue. That's billions of dollars on the line.
Here is what the investigation uncovered, why the app's default settings are causing a crisis, and what this regulatory hammer means for social media platforms everywhere.
The Flaws Hiding in TikTok's Default Privacy Settings
The main source of trouble sits right inside TikTok's user onboarding and profile setup.
Regulators found that TikTok lets underage users switch their profiles to public far too easily. When a minor turns their account public, anyone on the internet can watch their videos. That includes people who don't even have a TikTok account.
It gets worse for older teens. For users aged 16 and 17, TikTok's algorithm actively pushes public posts into the global "For You" feed.
European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier put it plainly: "Children's content must never be visible to strangers".
Even when teens try to stay safe by keeping accounts private, European investigators discovered serious loopholes:
- Exposed Network Lists: Strangers can easily discover private minor accounts simply by scrolling through the follower and following lists of other accounts.
- Unprotected Profile Photos: Profile pictures remain completely public and viewable by anyone on the web.
- Zero Friction Toggles: Kids aged 13 to 15 can flip their settings from private to public with a few taps, stripping away basic protections.
Regulators argue these design choices give total strangers a direct window into a child's personal life. Once content hits the web, it stays online, threatening kids with long-term consequences that can follow them straight into adulthood.
What the EU Wants TikTok to Change Right Away
The European Commission isn't asking TikTok to run a PR campaign. Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen made the stance clear: "A high level of protection should not be an opt-in; it should be the default".
Brussels wants concrete changes rolled out to the roughly 170 million TikTok users across the European Union. Regulators demand that TikTok fix the following issues immediately:
- Restricted Public Views: Even if a minor chooses a public account, their content must default to visible only to followers approved by the child.
- No Web-Wide Access: Underage user content should never be accessible to the general public outside the app.
- Kill the Recommendations: TikTok must stop pushing posts from 16- and 17-year-olds onto the general "For You" feed.
- Plug Privacy Leaks: Hide follower lists and restrict profile image exposure for minor accounts across the board.
This Is Part of a Massive Crackdown on Big Tech
This isn't an isolated incident. European regulators have been hammering tech giants under the DSA framework.
Just months ago, the EU targeted TikTok over "addictive design" features like autoplay and infinite scrolling. Regulators argued those mechanics exploit young minds and hurt physical and mental health. Separate investigations are still looking into TikTok's "rabbit hole" recommendation loops and weak age verification safeguards.
Similar pressure has been applied to Meta and Apple as Brussels asserts itself as the global cop on the tech beat.
TikTok released a statement claiming it shares the goal of protecting minors and plans to engage constructively with the Commission. But polite responses won't satisfy regulators. As Regnier noted, compliance "is not a beauty contest under the DSA. It must be effective".
Practical Privacy Actions for Parents and Users Today
While regulators fight ByteDance in courtrooms, you don't have to wait for corporate compliance to protect young users.
If you or your kids use TikTok, take these steps immediately inside the app settings:
- Force Account Privacy: Head to Settings and Privacy > Privacy and toggle Private Account on. This ensures only approved followers see uploaded content.
- Turn Off Suggestion Settings: Under Privacy, tap Suggest your account to others and turn off every toggle, including "Contacts" and "Facebook friends."
- Restrict Downloads and Direct Messages: Set "Direct Messages" to No One or Friends, and turn off video downloads entirely to stop strangers from saving content to their local devices.
- Enable Family Pairing: Link a parent's account to a teen's account to lock down privacy controls, restrict search functionality, and set hard daily screen time limits from a secondary phone.
TikTok now has time to respond in writing to defend its platform design. If the European Commission rejects their arguments, expect massive fines and mandatory, sweeping updates to how social media apps operate worldwide.
