Brussels – Is the current way TikTok accounts operate safe for minors? According to the European Commission, not entirely. In particular, the Commission believes that TikTok’s settings and certain features expose underage users of the social media platform to risks, “including unwanted contact, cyberbullying or predatory behaviour,” and that it does not meet the safety standards set out in the Digital Services Act (DSA). Today’s conclusions (24 July) are based on the preliminary findings of the investigation into the Chinese social media platform.
During today’s daily press briefing, the European Commission spokesperson, Thomas Regnier, clarified that there are some positive aspects to the platform’s settings. “TikTok has default settings for minors’ accounts with a clear distinction: Younger children, aged 13 to 15, have a private account by default,” while older children “aged 16 to 17 can choose between a private or public account,” he explained. However, the spokesperson reiterated that these are merely steps “in the right direction, but not effective enough” because “younger children, that is, those aged 13 to 15, can easily change the default settings of their TikTok profile from private to public.” The Commission cannot accept this because “at that age, privacy must be maintained.” Furthermore, “older minors, aged 16 to 17, who choose to have a public account can be seen by anyone on the internet” and the Commission “does not accept this.”
“Minors deserve a safe experience from the moment they go online,” said the Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen. “The Digital Services Act requires platforms to build protections for minors into the design of their services, and holds them to account when they fail to do so”. For these reasons, “A high level of protection should not be an opt-in; it should be the default.”
When minors set up a public account on TikTok, any user – including those without an account – can view their content. This setting would also allow content posted by 16- and 17-year-olds to be recommended to other users via the platform’s ‘For You’ section. The Commission believes that such exposure could lead to “unwanted contact from potential predators,” as well as the risk of the content being used for cyberbullying. In this context, the EU executive added that the ‘For You’ section potentially offers strangers “a window into a child’s life.” And since content posted by a minor remains online forever, right up to adulthood, “the feature comes with risks of potentially lifelong consequences.” The situation is no better if a child has a private account: their profile could easily be found via other users’ ‘Following’ and ‘Followers’ lists, and their profile picture remains visible to anyone, including users without a TikTok account.
The Commission concludes that the settings of the Chinese app continue to expose children to ongoing risks, including unwanted contact, cyberbullying, and predatory behaviour. The DSA, on the other hand, stipulates that platforms accessed by children must ensure a high level of privacy, security and protection for their services. The Commission has therefore taken the preliminary view that “TikTok’s account settings fail to meet this standard, as they expose minors’ accounts and content too widely.”
In line with the guidelines on child protection, Brussels has drawn three preliminary conclusions: the app should “should adjust the default settings of minors’ ‘public’ accounts,” so that their content is, by default, visible only to TikTok users whom the minor has accepted; although “older minors” – 16- and 17-year-olds – may have the option to share their content with a broader audience on TikTok, the content should under no circumstances be accessible to a global audience outside the platform; the Chinese platform should refrain from recommending minors’ content to other TikTok users through the For You Feed. These preliminary conclusions, however, do not prejudge the final outcome of the investigation.
TikTok will be able to examine the documents in the Commission’s investigation files and respond in writing to the Commission’s preliminary conclusions. At the same time, the European Board for Digital Services – an independent advisory group comprising national digital services coordinators and chaired by the European Commission, established to ensure the uniform application of the DSA – will be consulted. If the Commission’s views are ultimately confirmed, the Commission may issue a non-compliance decision, which can trigger a fine determined by the nature, gravity, recurrence, and duration of the infringement. The amount of the fine must be proportionate and will in no case exceed 6 per cent of a provider’s global annual turnover.
Meanwhile, the Chinese tech giant has responded. “On TikTok, young people’s accounts come with over 50 pre-set privacy and safety features from the moment they are created,” said a spokesperson for the platform. “Protecting children online is a goal we share, and we remain committed to continuously improving the measures we take to protect them. We will examine these preliminary findings and continue to engage constructively with the Commission,” the spokesperson added.
The European Commission’s preliminary conclusions today form part of an investigation the Commission launched on 19 February 2024 to verify that TikTok complies with the DSA. They are the result of an analysis that includes a review of TikTok’s interface, its internal data and documents, and interviews with law enforcement officials and experts in child protection, child abuse, and neuropsychology. The Commission has drawn on the guidelines on child protection to assess whether the app complies with its obligation to ensure a high level of privacy, safety, and protection for children. The investigation also covered the app’s ‘potentially addictive’ design, with respect to which preliminary conclusions were reached in February this year. The Commission also investigated researchers’ access to public data – for which preliminary conclusions were adopted in October 2025 – and advertising transparency, which was addressed through “binding commitments” in December 2025. The investigation also focuses on the so-called ‘rabbit hole’ effect of TikTok’s recommendation systems and the risk that minors may be exposed to content unsuitable for their age if they provide a false age. The investigation into these issues is still ongoing.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
