TikTok has been charged with breaching EU online content rules designed to protect children from predators or cyberbullying.
The European Commission said the social media platform’s accounts fall short of safety standards enshrined in the Digital Services Act.
It highlighted that children can make their accounts public and allow others to see their content, potentially putting them at risk of cyberbullying or contact from abusers.
The commission, which acts as the EU’s technology enforcer, also said that private accounts cannot be considered safe for children – given they can be found via the following and followers lists of other users.
It called on the video-sharing app to amend the settings of children’s public accounts. Pic: PA
TikTok – which said it would review the findings and work with the regulator – is now facing a potential fine of 6% of its global annual turnover, with the commission set to make a decision on its enforcement action.
The commission said the video-sharing app should amend the default settings of children’s public accounts so their content is only visible to users accepted by the minors.
TikTok said in a statement: “Teen accounts on TikTok have more than 50 preset privacy and safety features, informed by experts, from the moment they set up an account.
“Under 18 accounts are private by default and we are one of the only platforms where younger teens cannot use direct messaging or have their content eligible to appear in the For You feed.”
The charges are the fourth allegation levelled against TikTok in two years.
It offered concessions to prevent fines in two previous cases, and a third is still ongoing.
Earlier this month, Ofcom launched an investigation into whether TikTok is failing to protect children from harmful content.
It will set out to determine whether it is complying with elements of the Online Safety Act, which has been gradually rolled out since being passed into law in October 2023.
Read more from Sky News:
Girl’s sight-saving therapy
Tehran targets US bases
Ofcom said some systems used by TikTok to check users’ ages “may have failed to correctly identify a significant proportion of children”.
A spokesperson said: “We strictly enforce age-appropriate experiences through expert-informed platform rules and advanced age inference technologies, in line with major industry peers.
“In the eight years since TikTok launched in the UK, we have invested billions in platform safety.
“We are confident that we meet our Online Safety Act obligations and will work with Ofcom to demonstrate this.”
