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European Commission Preliminarily Finds TikTok's For You Feed Breaches Digital Services Act Over Harmful 'Rabbit Holes'

Bot Mutiny | November 9, 2026

The European Commission has preliminarily found TikTok in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA) over the "rabbit hole effect" of its recommender system, according to a Commission press release dated November 5, 2026. The Commission said TikTok's "For You" feed "shows users a continuous stream of personalised videos, even when those are related to mental health struggles and body image." TikTok disputes the findings, according to The Record, and the Commission stressed that they are preliminary and "do not prejudge the outcome of the investigation."

What the Commission says the algorithm does

The Commission wrote that "[t]he more a user interacts with a certain type of content, the more TikTok's 'For You' feed algorithm recommends similar content." It said this design "can be harmful when such endless and repeated exposure involves, for example, content about sadness, isolation or body image," and that such rabbit holes "can have a detrimental impact on users' mental health, especially that of vulnerable adults and minors."

According to the press release, the algorithm uses engagement information such as watching and liking videos to personalise recommendations. When a user repeatedly watches or likes content that may be triggering, such as content about weight loss or body image, the Commission said the system "interprets these interactions as positive signs of interest and recommends more of the same."

Two preliminary findings: risk assessment and mitigation

The Commission's first preliminary finding is that TikTok did not adequately assess how its recommendation algorithm may lead users into rabbit holes, "putting their wellbeing at risk." The second is that TikTok failed to put in place "proportionate, reasonable and effective mitigation measures."

The Commission acknowledged that TikTok has already introduced some measures, but said it has preliminarily found them ineffective. Measures meant to recommend diversified content "do not sufficiently reduce how often similar content is recommended," it said. User controls also fall short, in the Commission's view: using the "not interested" button "may not be enough to change the content feed," because the algorithm "prioritises showing users content based on viewing time, over their choice to see less of certain content."

The Record, which reported on the findings, added details attributed to Commission officials. They said investigators deliberately focused on videos that were neither illegal nor against TikTok's own rules, and cited trends such as "what I eat in a day" and "SkinnyTok." The officials said the content could look harmless in isolation but become damaging through repetition. The Record reported that officials said they analysed about 20,000 videos with help from psychologists, psychiatrists and experts in system design, and that they described the case as the first time EU regulators have directly challenged the engagement-based recommendation system of a major social media platform.

What the Commission wants changed

The Commission said that "at this stage of the investigation," it considers that TikTok needs to change the design of the "For You" feed. Its examples: rely more on users' explicit preferences, disable viewing time as an indicator for recommending content, make user controls easier to find and use, and regularly test the algorithm.

Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen said in the release: "Every time a user scrolls or likes a video on TikTok, the algorithm serves more of the same leading users down rabbit holes they cannot easily escape from. The Digital Services Act makes platforms responsible for addressing the negative effects related to their recommender system."

TikTok's response and next steps

A TikTok spokesperson said, as quoted by The Record: "The Commission has made a series of statements that are fundamentally inaccurate and distort our platform's architecture and our commitment to user safety." The spokesperson added: "We have a strong record of protecting our community while giving users direct and intuitive control over their content experience."

TikTok can now examine the documents in the Commission's investigation file and reply in writing, and the European Board for Digital Services will be consulted. If the Commission's views are ultimately confirmed, it may issue a non-compliance decision. That could carry a fine of up to 6% of TikTok's total worldwide annual turnover.

Part of a wider set of proceedings

The Commission said the findings are part of formal proceedings opened against TikTok under the DSA. In the same proceedings it adopted preliminary findings on addictive design in February 2026 and on the protection of minors in July 2026. Earlier, it issued preliminary findings on researcher access to public data in October 2025, and closed an advertising transparency strand through binding commitments in December 2025. The Irish Digital Service Coordinator, Coimisiún na Meán, supported the investigation.

The Record also reported that officials said they are "looking more widely beyond TikTok," and that they described the case as a "scene setter" for the proposed KIDS Act, introduced in September. According to The Record, that proposal would bar platforms from relying solely on engagement signals to recommend content to children.