Brussels.- The European Commission accused the Chinese social network TikTok this Friday of not sufficiently protecting minors because the accounts it has specifically designed for them do not prevent the content they post from ending up in the hands of “potential perpetrators” or being used for cyberbullying.
The EU Executive considers that it is violating the Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires large platforms to provide special protection for minors online, and could impose a fine of up to 6% of its global annual turnover in the future if the arguments to which the company is now entitled do not convince them.
Brussels says that minors can choose for their accounts to be public, which means that any user, even if they do not have a TikTok profile, can see the content they post.
“This feature potentially gives strangers access to a minor’s life. Furthermore, given that what minors post can remain on the internet forever (…) it carries risks with potential lifelong consequences,” the European Commission stated in a press release.
The Commission adds that, even if minors decide to keep their account private, they can be “easily” found through the “followers” and “following” lists, and that both their profile and photos are accessible to any user, even if they do not have a TikTok profile.
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The DSA requires large platforms to ensure that minors browse in a safe environment, so it asks TikTok to configure public accounts designed specifically for them in such a way that the content they publish is only visible to users they have previously accepted.
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And regarding 16 and 17-year-old adolescents, it asks TikTok that, even though they have the possibility of sharing their content with a wide audience, it prevents it from being accessible to all those who do not have an account on the platform, as well as preventing what they publish from being recommended to other users through the “For You” tab.
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Brussels is thus pursuing the level of protection that TikTok offers to minors, after accusing it in February of having an addictive design.
“Minors deserve a safe experience from the moment they connect to the internet. (…) A high level of protection should not be optional; it should be the norm. This is our responsibility to current and future generations of European children,” said European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, responsible for digital policy.
TikTok responds
The company said that “teen accounts have more than 50 privacy and safety features built in by default, designed with expert advice from the moment the account is created.”
“Accounts for users under 18 are private by default, and we are one of the few platforms where younger teens cannot use direct messages, nor can their content appear in the ‘For You’ feed,” TikTok sources stated.
They also assured that the tech company shares the “goal” of protecting minors and that it will work with the European Commission “constructively”.
