EU finds TikTok breached child safety rules for third time

The European Commission on Friday issued preliminary findings accusing TikTok of violating the EU's Digital Services Act by failing to adequately protect children's privacy, the latest in a series of enforcement actions against the ByteDance-owned platform over its treatment of young users.mlex+1

The Commission found that TikTok's default account settings expose children's accounts and content too broadly, allowing adults to view the accounts of minors and increasing the risks of unwanted contact, cyberbullying, and predatory behavior. Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier warned that the platform's settings allow children aged 13 to 15 to switch their accounts from private to public, while private profiles of users aged 16 to 17 can be visible to anyone online.europa+2

Protections "Should Be the Default"

EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said strong protections for minors should be built into the platform by design, not offered as something users must opt into. The stance reflects the Commission's broader push to hold platforms accountable for child safety, an effort that has intensified across Europe in recent months.europa

TikTok said it would review the findings and cooperate with regulators. If the Commission issues a formal non-compliance decision, the platform faces a potential fine of up to 6 percent of its global annual turnover.apnews+1

A Pattern of EU Enforcement

Friday's charges mark the third set of preliminary findings the Commission has issued against TikTok under the DSA. In February 2026, regulators found TikTok's "addictive design" — including infinite scroll, autoplay, and push notifications — in breach of the act, calling on the platform to change the "basic design" of its service. In October 2025, TikTok was found alongside Meta ↘ 0.31% to have violated DSA transparency obligations, including by restricting researchers' access to public data.digital-strategy.europa+4

The Commission first opened a formal investigation into TikTok in February 2024, examining areas linked to child protection, advertising transparency, and addictive design. Since then, TikTok has also been fined €530 million by EU privacy regulators over data transfers to China and €345 million for earlier violations of children's data privacy rules.techcrunch+3

Broader EU Crackdown on Children's Access

The findings come as EU leaders move toward restricting children's access to social media more broadly. An expert panel delivered recommendations to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen earlier this month calling for an EU-wide access restriction for children under 13 and requiring platforms to prove their services are safe before making them available to minors. A legislative proposal is expected in the second half of the year, with the planned Digital Fairness Act set to target addictive design practices across the industry.reuters+3