The European Commission has issued a scathing rebuke of TikTok’s “addictive design”, warning the app is in danger of harming the physical and mental well-being of its more than 200 million users across the bloc.

Calling out TikTok’s basic architecture, the Commission said that features like infinite scroll and autoplay, coupled with the app’s highly personalised recommender system, are “shifting users’ brains into autopilot mode”, which lawmakers said could lead to compulsive behaviour and loss of self-control.

The Commission said that in its assessment, TikTok had disregarded important signs of compulsive use of the app, such as the time that minors spend scrolling at night, the frequency with which users open the app, and other potential indicators of addiction.

Finding TikTok in breach of its flagship Digital Services Act (DSA), the Commission found that the app “fail[s] to implement reasonable, proportionate and effective measures to mitigate risks stemming from its addictive design.”

The EU’s executive body said that the risk of addiction is not being tempered by TikTok’s current screentime management tools, calling these ineffective “because they are easy to dismiss”, while parental controls are too time-consuming to set up. 

The findings follow almost two years of investigation into the platform, with the Commission first looking into TikTok’s compliance with the Digital Services Act in February 2024. 

As well as addictive design, the Commission’s wide-ranging investigation covers the “rabbit hole effect” of TikTok’s recommender systems, the risk of minors having an age-inappropriate experience, and the platforms’ obligations to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors.

“At this stage, the Commission considers that TikTok needs to change the basic design of its service,” said the regulator.  

“For instance, by disabling key addictive features such as ‘infinite scroll’ over time, implementing effective ‘screen time breaks’, including during the night, and adapting its recommender system.”

If the social media giant fails to overhaul these features and beef up its safeguards, it could face 6% of its global annual revenue – a fine stretching to billions.

Before any fines are levied, the Bytedance-owned app has a chance to exercise a defence, an avenue it is determined to take, with a spokesperson telling the BBC that the findings presented a “categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform”.

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The EU’s investigation into TikTok brings more scrutiny to the effect of social media on mental health and safety, with calls to ban children and young adults from the platforms growing.

Australia became one of the first governments to introduce a social media ban late last year, with ten major platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, going dark for thousands of teens Down Under.

Since then, a host of other countries have either followed suit or have openly considered similar plans, including France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Finland, and Germany. 

In the UK, the Commons and the House of Lords are in a tug-of-war, with peers steamrolling over Labour’s ongoing consultation by voting overwhelmingly for a social media ban to be added as an amendment to the government’s schools bill.