If it fails to satisfy the Commission, the app could face fines up to 6 percent of annual revenue. TikTok can now defend itself against the preliminary findings and examine the evidence against it.
“The Commission’s preliminary findings present a categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform, and we will take whatever steps are necessary to challenge these findings through every means available to us,” said TikTok spokesperson Paolo Ganino.
TikTok has been under investigation over the addictiveness of its platform since February 2024, and was already accused of breaking rules over transparency in May 2025. Other parts of the investigation around age verification and its recommender system are still ongoing.
This is the first time a legal standard on addictive design has been set globally, a senior Commission official said in a briefing to reporters.
The findings are about “the addictive design of the whole service” but these features are “even more harmful for minors” because “they don’t have the same tools” to avoid compulsive behavior, EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen told reporters.
The TikTok assessment and subsequent negotiations with Brussels will be closely watched by other social media companies also under investigation, particularly Meta, because Facebook and Instagram are also being scrutinized over addictive algorithms.