EU accuses TikTok of designing algorithm that creates ‘rabbit holes’

The European Commission has accused TikTok of violating its online platforms rules for having designed algorithms that lead users down so-called rabbit holes. The preliminary findings announced Friday mark the first time the Commission has focused on a social media platform’s recommender systems as a breach of its powerful Digital Services Act, under which it can issue fines up to 6% of a company’s annual global revenue. “This is the first time that we are really tackling head-on the engagement-based recommender system model,” said one Commission official, who was granted speaking anonymity to speak freely. This is the fifth case of the EU executive accusing TikTok of breaching EU rules, even though it has issued no fines against the Chinese-owned platform. In Friday’s announcement, the Commission says the company didn’t adequately consider the risk of sending users down “rabbit holes” through a “continuous stream of personalised videos, even when those are related to mental health struggles and body image.” The investigation focused on mental health impacts because “the evidence was strongest,” when asked about how these rabbit holes contribute to radicalization, said another official. The more users interact with content, even if it’s potentially harmful, the more of that content they are recommended, the Commission said in its press release, which noted that the measures TikTok has put in place to curb the rabbit hole effect have not been effective. TikTok should take into account “explicit” signals like buttons that say “I’m not interested” more than implicit ones, like engagement, said the first Commission official. Engagement metrics measure how much users interact with content, such as how much time they spend watching a video or the content they like. Talking about mitigation of these risks, the official said that remedies have to be effective and that TikTok’s current measures are not. “To say ‘I’m not interested’ has to have a meaning, an effective meaning, and not only should not only be an afterthought, and then you go back to the old recommender system,” the official said. The DSA also foresees a non-personalized feed for all users, but only 0.2% of TikTok users actually select that option, one of the officials said. The company now can examine the evidence, defend its practices and try to come up with a plan to remedy issues that is acceptable to the regulator to avoid fines. TikTok has managed to close a DSA investigation on advertising transparency by agreeing on fixes with the Commission. TikTok did not respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.