TikTok is one of, if not the most, popular social media apps on the planet. TikTok is where the majority of young users are consuming content. The platform specializes in short form video content that users scroll through. The content is fast and often visually appealing. Users can spend hours scrolling through videos as short as twenty seconds and it quickly becomes addictive.
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TikTok has a large user base of very young users and now, the European Union is investigating the company for failure to protect that young user base. According to 9TO5Mac, the platform is being investigated for breaches to the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) which includes failure to protect children but also covers the mental health of a user base.
TikTok is being accused of deliberately making its platform addictive, causing users to spend more than a healthy amount of time on the app. This isn’t the only social media app to do this, X, Facebook, Instagram, Truth Social, and even LinkedIn all make attempts to keep you on the app. There is revenue to be had if that is accomplished.
According to 9TO5Mac; “The Digital Services Act (DSA) is European legislation designed to protect people from false information, from disguised ads, and from your personal data being used to target you without your knowledge.”
The key part of the DSA that TikTok is violating is, “ensure a high level of privacy, safety, and security for minors, particularly with regard to default privacy settings for minors as part of the design and functioning of their recommender systems.”
But the EU isn’t only targeting TikTok, X is also under investigation for similar issues, and other social media platforms may follow. It will be interesting to see what shakes out with these investigations and if anything changes because of them.
What do you think of the EU investigation into TikTok? Do you use TikTok? Do you agree with the EU? Please share your thoughts on your favorite social media site and tag us on Facebook, X, MeWe, and LinkedIn. Or join our Telegram channel here.
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