EU issues preliminary findings accusing TikTok of failing to protect minors under the Digital Services Act
The Facts
- The European Commission issued preliminary findings accusing TikTok of breaching the EU’s Digital Services Act in relation to protections for minors.
- The Commission’s case centers on TikTok allowing minors to choose public accounts, which can make their content visible to any user, including people without a TikTok account.
- EU regulators say these settings can expose minors to risks including unwanted contact, cyberbullying and predatory behavior.
- The Commission says platforms accessible to minors should provide a high level of privacy and safety by default rather than requiring children to activate those protections themselves.
- TikTok now has the right to examine the investigation file and submit arguments in response to the Commission’s preliminary findings.
- If the preliminary findings are confirmed, TikTok could face a fine of up to 6% of its global annual turnover.
- The investigation is part of a broader EU enforcement push under the Digital Services Act against major online platforms’ safety and compliance practices.
Context
What exactly is the EU accusing TikTok of doing?
The Commission says TikTok’s account design for minors does not provide the level of safety required by the Digital Services Act, especially because minors can make their accounts public and expose their content to broad audiences ZN.UA,CNBC,20 minutos.
Why does the EU say this matters for children?
According to the Commission, public visibility for minors’ accounts can increase the risk of unwanted contact, cyberbullying and misuse of content by strangers, including people who do not have TikTok accounts infobae,EL PAÍS,SAPO.
What happens next in the case?
These are preliminary findings, not a final penalty. TikTok can review the file and respond, and only if the Commission maintains its position after that process could it impose a fine of up to 6% of the company’s global annual turnover infobae,Clarin,El Español.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- Preliminary findings put TikTok’s treatment of minors under serious legal scrutiny, with child safety obligations and meaningful consequences under the Digital Services Act both undisputed.
- Where Left and Right split
- Whether the story is about platforms defaulting children into stronger privacy protections, or about regulators proving violations through a disciplined process before imposing major penalties.
How left and right read it
The European Commission issued preliminary findings accusing TikTok of violating protections for minors by letting children choose public accounts that make their content visible to anyone, including people without an account. That leaves children to manage risks like unwanted contact, cyberbullying, and predatory behavior on their own. Privacy and safety for minors must be the default, not a burden shifted onto kids.
Up to 6% of global annual turnover is a serious sanction, which is exactly why this process has to stay disciplined: the Commission has issued only preliminary findings, and TikTok has the right to examine the file and answer. Enforce the rules, but do it through clear standards, due process, and institutional restraint.
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