European Commission targets TikTok over minor privacy protections

The European Commission has identified preliminary privacy concerns regarding TikTok’s settings for minors. Under the Digital Services Act (DSA), Brussels is calling for the platform to implement automatic protections for adolescents in the EU, rather than requiring settings to be activated after registration. The Commission specifically noted that videos of minors should not be included in “For You” feed recommendations. Failure to comply with the DSA could result in fines of up to 6% of turnover.

In Germany, a study by Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) among 12-to-17-year-olds reveals significant youth support for age restrictions on social media. Approximately 47% of participants favor a ban on social media until a certain age, citing 14 as the average appropriate limit, while 8% support a total ban for children and adolescents.

Despite these views, 80% of the surveyed youth rate social media positively for their own lives. However, they identified several key issues: 57% are annoyed by advertising, 52% are burdened by misinformation, 36% feel they spend too much time online, and 35% report experiencing bullying or offensive comments.