The European Commission has preliminarily found the TikTok For You feed in breach of the Digital Services Act. Published in Brussels on 6 November 2026, the finding says the feed’s “rabbit hole effect” can damage users’ mental health, and it names four changes TikTok should make. Nothing changes for users yet.
What the Commission Found in the TikTok For You Feed
The Commission’s preliminary findings cover two things: how TikTok assessed the risk its recommender system creates, and what it did to reduce that risk. It concluded that TikTok fell short on both.
A recommender system is the software that decides which videos appear next. According to the Commission’s announcement, “the more a user interacts with a certain type of content, the more TikTok’s ‘For You’ feed algorithm recommends similar content.” The Commission calls the result a rabbit hole, and says it becomes harmful when the repeated content concerns sadness, isolation or body image.
On risk assessment, the Commission said TikTok did not adequately assess how its algorithm could lead users into those loops. It gave a specific example: when someone repeatedly watches or likes weight-loss or body-image content, the system reads those actions as interest and serves more of the same. Repeated exposure, the Commission said, may increase sadness or anxiety, lower self-esteem, or worsen existing eating disorders.
On mitigation, the Commission accepted that TikTok has measures in place but preliminarily found them ineffective. Its stated reason is blunt: the algorithm “prioritises showing users content based on viewing time, over their choice to see less of certain content.”
The Four Changes the Commission Named
The Commission said TikTok needs to change the design of the For You feed, and offered four examples of how.
- Explicit preferences: Rely more on what users actually say they want, rather than on what they watch.
- Viewing time: Disable viewing time as an indicator for recommending content.
- User controls: Increase the accessibility and usability of the controls people use to steer their feed.
- Testing: Test the algorithm regularly.
These are examples the Commission put forward at this stage of its investigation, not a binding order. The Commission did not say how it would measure whether a redesign was sufficient.
What Changes for Your Feed Today
Nothing. As of 7 November 2026, TikTok is under no obligation to alter the For You feed, and the Commission has set no date by which it must.
The practical point for users sits in the Commission’s criticism of the existing controls. It said the “not interested” button “may not be enough to change the content feed”, and that TikTok’s content-diversification measures do not sufficiently reduce how often similar videos are recommended. In other words, the two tools most people reach for are the ones the Commission has preliminarily judged inadequate.
One control the Commission did not dispute already exists for users in the European Economic Area. In TikTok’s 2023 announcement on its DSA commitments, the company said that if users turn off personalisation, “their For You and LIVE feeds will instead show popular videos from both the places where they live and around the world”. Following and Friends feeds then run in chronological order. That option dates from August 2023 and is unaffected by this week’s finding.
How TikTok Responded
TikTok rejected the findings. A company spokesperson said the Commission’s claims are “fundamentally inaccurate and distort our platform’s architecture and our commitment to user safety”, and that TikTok has “a strong record of protecting our community while giving users direct and intuitive control over their content experience”. TikTok did not name the spokesperson in the statements reported by France 24 and RTE.
The company has not said whether it will change the feed voluntarily, and it retains a formal right to contest the findings before any decision is made.
What Happens Next, and When
TikTok can now exercise its right of defence, which means examining the documents in the Commission’s investigation file and replying in writing. The European Board for Digital Services will be consulted in parallel.
If the Commission’s views are ultimately confirmed, it may issue a non-compliance decision carrying a fine of up to, but not more than, 6% of the provider’s total worldwide annual turnover. That ceiling applies to global revenue, not European revenue. The Commission stressed that the preliminary findings “do not prejudge the outcome of the investigation”.
No deadline has been published for TikTok’s reply or for a final decision, which is the single largest unknown in the case. TikTok is regulated here as a very large online platform, the Digital Services Act’s category for services with more than 45 million monthly users in the EU, and its European base is in Dublin. Ireland’s media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, supported the investigation.
Where the Rest of the TikTok Investigation Stands
Friday’s finding is one strand of a single set of proceedings, which is why the Commission described it as showing “again” that TikTok must do more. The Commission listed the other strands and their dates.
- October 2025: Preliminary findings on researchers’ access to public data.
- December 2025: Advertising transparency closed through binding commitments.
- February 2026: Preliminary findings on addictive design.
- July 2026: Preliminary findings on the protection of minors.
- 6 November 2026: Preliminary findings on the rabbit hole effect.
According to PBS News, the Commission opened the proceedings more than two years ago. The pressure is not confined to TikTok or to ByteDance, its Beijing-based owner, whose adverts Meta barred from its own apps in October 2026: CNBC reported on 6 November 2026 that the Commission is separately examining similar rabbit hole effects in Meta’s Facebook and Instagram recommender systems. Separately, the proposed EU Kids Act would set its own age limits for social media accounts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the TikTok For You Feed Change Now?
No. These are preliminary findings, not a final decision, and TikTok has the right to reply in writing first. The Commission has published no deadline for that reply or for a ruling.
What Is the Rabbit Hole Effect?
It is the Commission’s term for a feed that keeps serving more of whatever a user engages with. The Commission says it turns harmful when the repeated content involves sadness, isolation or body image, particularly for minors and vulnerable adults.
How Large Could the Fine Be?
Up to 6% of the provider’s total worldwide annual turnover, and no more. A fine only becomes possible if the Commission confirms its views and issues a non-compliance decision.
Does This Apply Outside the European Union?
The Digital Services Act governs platforms’ services in the EU, and these proceedings concern TikTok’s obligations there. TikTok has not said whether any redesign of the feed would extend to other regions.
Can I Switch Off Personalisation on TikTok Today?
Users in the European Economic Area can. TikTok introduced a non-personalised option in August 2023, which replaces recommended videos with popular ones from the user’s area and worldwide.
