TikTok Gets Punished for Doing Too Well 

By Maartje Schulz, Policy and Research Manager at ELF

Let me start off with a short disclaimer: It is not my goal to create sympathy for big companies like TikTok. But I must say, the recent statement by the European Commission that TikTok will get heavily fined if they do not change their ‘addictive design’ is  –  in some ways – quite strange. It is essentially saying you are doing your job too well (making a successful product) and then getting punished for it.  

I understand we have the DSA and naturally, EU Laws are to be respected. But to be fair, what do we expect companies like TikTok to do? Of course they want their users to maximize time spent on their platform and to enjoy an experience that is well-tailored to them. This is simple business logic and expecting TikTok to behave otherwise is against the nature of companies. By threatening to fine TikTok for having a design which is too addictive, the Commission is in a way saying that TikTok should make its product less pleasurable.  

As my 24-year old colleague said to me recently: ‘I don’t use TikTok because it is too good: the algorithm knows exactly what I’m interested in.’ This is called being aware of the addictive nature of these platforms and taking personal responsibility for it. 

Ban young minors from addictive platforms? 

Of course, the same cannot be expected from (young) minors. Their brains are still very much developing, and heavy use of these addictive platforms is harmful to their development, as Commissioner Virkkunnen also stated. That same fact – that their brains are developing – also makes them less able to be responsible and accountable for their decisions, such as when it comes to TikTok-use. 

I would therefore say: If we truly believe something is harmful and addictive in nature, perhaps politicians should just ban it completely for vulnerable groups like young minors?  

There is a reason we also don’t let children purchase alcohol, drugs or vapes. Perhaps we should do the same for very addictive social platforms like TikTok. The logic is the same: we prevent very young people with developing brains from harm to their brains and body. 

In Australia, children under 16 are already no longer allowed to create accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X and YouTube. 

Following Australia’s lead, some European countries are also considering such policies, such as France, Denmark, Austria and Spain. Emmanuel Macron wants to have the social media ban for under-15s in place by September.  

And although it is great to see countries take leadership themselves individually, perhaps now is the time for a bolder European move, as also called for in the new Dutch coalition agreement. D66, VVD and CDA want ‘an enforceable European minimum age of 15 for social media with privacy-friendly age verification for young people, as long as social media apps are insufficiently secure’. 

For those of us in society that are 15 years and older – we shouldn’t be left alone in the dark either.  We can become more resilient when we better understand how social media affects us. For us to grasp the full picture, this requires maximum transparency from these platforms – a requirement that is, by the way, also an essential part of the DSA.  

Finally, given the addictive nature of social media platforms, we need to be much better trained on social media use and how to limit ourselves than we are currently. Let’s think about how we can achieve this, I am curious to hear your much needed ideas. 

Because unfortunately, not everyone is as informed and vigilant as my 24-year old colleague.