The European Commission announced on Nov. 6, 2026, that it had preliminarily found TikTok’s recommendation system in breach of the Digital Services Act over the “rabbit hole” effect of its “For You” feed. The Commission’s announcement focuses on both how TikTok assesses risks and the measures it takes to reduce them.
The concern is a feedback loop: The more someone interacts with a particular type of content, the more similar videos the feed recommends, the Commission explained. It warned that endless, repeated exposure to videos about sadness, isolation or body image can harm mental health, especially among vulnerable adults and minors. Those are the regulator’s assessments of potential harm, set out in its preliminary findings.
More weight for what users explicitly want
The Commission alleges that TikTok failed to implement proportionate, reasonable and effective measures to address the risks, CNBC reported. Regulators want changes to the “For You” algorithm, including greater reliance on users’ explicit preferences, more accessible and usable controls, and regular algorithm testing, according to CNBC’s report.
An unnamed Commission official gave POLITICO a concrete example: TikTok should give more weight to explicit signals, such as an “I'm not interested” button, than to engagement signals such as viewing time or likes. The official argued that TikTok’s existing measures were not effective. That is a proposed direction for remedies, not a change TikTok has already agreed to make.
TikTok can challenge the findings
The finding is preliminary, not a final decision. TikTok can examine the case against it, defend its practices and propose a remedy acceptable to the regulator to avoid fines, POLITICO reported. The outlet also reported that TikTok did not respond to its request for comment.
The DSA allows fines of up to 6% of a company’s annual global revenue. That is a potential maximum, not a penalty imposed by these preliminary findings.
