Technology Design Under Scrutiny: Is TikTok Addictive? For now, yes.
Since February 2024, the European Commission has been investigating whether TikTok complies with the requirements of the Digital Services Act (DSA). As part of this formal procedure, the Commission is examining, among other things, TikTok’s design for potential addiction risks, its recommendation systems, and the so-called “rabbit hole effect,” as well as safety, privacy, and the protection of minors on the platform. The investigation also covers transparency requirements related to advertising and access to research data.
On February 6, 2026, the European Commission published another preliminary finding from this investigation. The Commission currently believes that TikTok’s addictive design violates the Digital Services Act (DSA). Based on this preliminary assessment, the Commission expects TikTok to modify its design to comply with the DSA.
The Commission has examined various features of TikTok and the resulting addiction risks. The features examined include, for example, infinite scrolling, autoplay, push notifications, and the personalized recommendation system.
According to the Commission’s preliminary findings, TikTok’s design encourages users to keep scrolling because it “rewards” them with a constant stream of new content. This shifts users’ brains into autopilot mode, which can lead to a decline in self-control and make users susceptible to compulsive behavior.
According to the Commission’s preliminary findings, TikTok has not adequately assessed the impact of these features on users’ physical and mental well-being and has likely also failed to sufficiently implement the necessary risk mitigation measures.
TikTok did not sufficiently take various aspects of the app’s use into account in its risk assessment. These include, for example, the amount of time minors spend on the platform at night and the frequency with which users open the app. According to the Commission’s preliminary assessment, the measures TikTok has proposed to reduce the risk of addiction, such as the screen time management tool and parental controls, are insufficient. The Commission found that the protective mechanisms are too easy to circumvent or require too much effort to set up.
The Commission’s preliminary assessment is based, among other things, on an analysis of the risk assessment reports, as well as internal data and documents from TikTok and the results of several requests for information. Scientific research on addictive design and expert interviews were also taken into account.
The Commission’s preliminary assessment is based, among other things, on an analysis of the risk assessment reports, as well as internal data and documents from TikTok and the results of several requests for information. Scientific research on addictive design and expert interviews were also taken into account.
The Commission’s investigation is not yet complete, and its findings are, for now, only preliminary. A violation has not yet been definitively established. Therefore, TikTok does not yet have to make any changes to its design. TikTok can defend itself against the allegations and comment on the preliminary findings. Only if the Commission’s preliminary assessment is confirmed can the Commission impose a fine for violating the DSA.
In addition to its current assessment of the addictive design, the European Commission had already published its preliminary findings on access to research data at TikTok in October 2025. In December 2025, the investigation into the transparency of advertising on TikTok was concluded with binding commitments.
The Digital Services Act establishes certain due diligence obligations and transparency requirements for intermediary services. The goal of these regulations is to ensure greater safety and fairness in online services to protect users in the European Union. Intermediary services include, for example, online marketplaces and social networks, as well as app stores and online travel and accommodation platforms. The Digital Services Act contains special provisions for very large platforms and search engines.
The potentially addictive design of online platforms and social media apps is the subject of a lawsuit in the U.S. against Meta and Google. A private individual accuses the two companies of, among other things, designing apps that can lead to depression and suicidal thoughts, particularly among children and adolescents, and is seeking damages. TikTok and Snapchat were also sued over this issue but reached an out-of-court settlement with the plaintiff.
Charlotte Werther, LL.M., is a lawyer and research associate at the Open Search Foundation e.V. As part of the PriDI project, she focuses on designing an open search infrastructure that complies with fundamental rights.
