The European Commission has issued preliminary findings indicating that TikTok failed to sufficiently protect minors’ privacy as mandated by the Digital Services Act (DSA). These findings highlight inadequate privacy settings that allowed minors’ content and accounts to be overly accessible, potentially subjecting them to unwanted interactions and long-term privacy issues. Notably, minors’ content can remain online indefinitely, presenting future risks as these individuals transition to adulthood.
According to the Commission, TikTok’s platform, with its vast user base of approximately 169.7 million across the European Union, permits minors to have their accounts set to public. This visibility extends to individuals who are not registered on TikTok, increasing the risk of exposure to potentially harmful interactions and behaviors. Furthermore, even private accounts are not completely secure, as minors’ profiles can still be accessed through mutual connections’ follower and following lists and via publicly visible profile pictures.
This investigation pertains to Article 28(1) of the DSA, which mandates platforms accessible to minors to implement robust privacy and security measures. The Commission recommends that minors’ content should, by default, be visible only to approved users and not be exposed outside of TikTok or via suggestive feeds like the “For You” feed. The assessment was based on TikTok’s user interface, internal documentation, and expert interviews, including insights from child protection advocates and neuropsychologists. More details on these preliminary findings can be found here.
This case is part of a broader investigation initiated on February 19, 2024, scrutinizing TikTok’s treatment of minors, the addictive nature of its platform, advertising transparency, and access for researchers. Previous evaluations in this wider inquiry have already raised concerns regarding addictive design and researcher access, while the advertising transparency issues were addressed through binding commitments from TikTok in December 2025.
With these findings, TikTok is now reviewing the evidence and has the opportunity to respond formally. The European Board for Digital Services will also provide insight on this matter. Should the findings be confirmed, the Commission is poised to issue a non-compliance decision that could result in fines as high as six percent of TikTok’s global annual revenue.