The European Commission has charged TikTok with failing to protect its users' mental health, The Guardian reported. In a preliminary ruling on Friday, the EU regulator said the platform's algorithm "can be harmful". It said the algorithm feeds users a steady stream of content that can worsen eating disorders and anxiety.
The Chinese-owned short-video platform has 189 million users in the EU. Officials found that TikTok failed to stop users from being served repetitive content on themes such as body image or isolation. The probe focused on legal content. Officials said a single video might not be a problem, but watching dozens on one theme could damage mental health.
The Commission found that TikTok's safeguards against these "rabbit-hole effects" did not work. Officials said a user who clicked "not interested" on a video about eating patterns would still see similar content on diet and body image. Refreshing the feed brought only a short break from the same topic.
Henna Virkkunen, the Commission's lead official on tech policy, said every scroll or like makes the algorithm serve "more of the same". She said TikTok must do more to protect users' wellbeing, including that of minors. A Commission official told reporters that the case targets a business model built mainly on engagement. Such a model can create risks for minors and vulnerable adults, the official said. The EU wants TikTok to redesign its ForYou feed and give users more control.
A TikTok spokesperson said the Commission's statements were "fundamentally inaccurate" and distorted the platform's design and its commitment to safety. The company said its rules ban content that promotes disordered eating. It said more than 79 million EU users used its "not interested" or keyword filters in the first six months of 2026.
The Molly Rose Foundation welcomed the findings as landmark. The charity was set up in memory of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who took her own life in 2017 after seeing harmful content online. It urged the UK regulator, Ofcom, to open its own investigation into TikTok's algorithm.
The findings are part of a wider probe launched in February 2024 under the Digital Services Act. The Commission has already found that TikTok broke EU rules with its "addictive design", including infinite scroll. TikTok called those findings "entirely meritless" and said it would challenge them. The company can now examine the case file and mount a defence. It could also change its recommender system to avoid a fine.