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EU Commission targets TikTok over child‑safety failures
The European Commission concluded that TikTok is not complying with the Digital Services Act’s requirements for protecting children, citing risks of harassment, unwanted contacts and predatory behaviour. The commission warned that the platform could face a fine of up to 6 % of its global revenue and urged that minors’ accounts be set to the highest privacy level by default.
EU executive vice‑president Henna Virkkunen said child‑protection measures must be built into the service from the start. TikTok said it will review the preliminary findings and pointed out that its teen accounts already include more than 50 pre‑configured privacy and safety functions, with under‑18 profiles set to private by default.
In Germany, the SPD parliamentary group backed stricter national rules, calling for a minimum age of 14, reliable age‑verification tools and a separate youth version of the platform without endless scrolling. The EU is also working on an EUDI‑wallet age‑verification system that is expected to become operational on 1 January 2027.
Entities
Digital Services Act · European Commission · Henna Virkkunen · Jasmina Hostert · SPD Bundestag faction · Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) · TikTok
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Henna Virkkunen, EU executive vice‑president for technology, said child protection must be built in from the start. www.colombia.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The investigation of TikTok’s child‑safety practices was opened under the Digital Services Act. www.colombia.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The EU is developing an EUDI‑wallet age‑verification system planned to take effect on 1 January 2027. dimbb.de
- [○ 1 SOURCE] TikTok said it will review the Commission’s conclusions and noted that teen accounts have more than 50 pre‑set privacy functions and are private by default. www.colombia.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The European Commission concluded that TikTok is not complying with the Digital Services Act’s child‑safety requirements. www.colombia.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The commission may impose a fine of up to 6 % of TikTok’s global revenue. www.colombia.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] SPD parliamentarians propose a minimum age of 14 for platform use and require reliable age‑verification tools. www.finanznachrichten.de
- [○ 1 SOURCE] TikTok’s current settings allow minors’ accounts to be public, exposing them to harassment and unwanted contact. www.colombia.com