The European Commission warns TikTok that protections for minors must be default settings, not opt-in, under the Digital Services Act, or face fines of up to 6% of global revenue.
<figure>
<img alt="An illustration of the TikTok logo" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/STK051_VRG_Illo_N_Barclay_2_tiktok.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
<figcaption>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">TikTok has attracted the ire of the European Union over its protection of children who use the video sharing platform. The <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_1679">European Commission announced</a> preliminary findings today under the Digital Services Act (DSA) that offer specific issues to address.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Commission suggests that TikTok should adjust the default settings of minors' "public" accounts so the content they post is only visible to TikTok users the teen has chosen to share it with, and that such content shouldn't be recommended to other users in the For You feed. Even accounts set to private can be easily discovered through the "following" lists of other users, and their prof …</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/970519/tiktok-eu-dsa-child-safety-age-account-privacy">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>
# TikTok’s protection of minors should not be opt-in, warns EU
Source: [https://www.theverge.com/tech/970519/tiktok-eu-dsa-child-safety-age-account-privacy](https://www.theverge.com/tech/970519/tiktok-eu-dsa-child-safety-age-account-privacy)
[](https://www.theverge.com/authors/jess-weatherbed)
Jess Weatherbed
is a news writer focused on creative industries, computing, and internet culture\. Jess started her career at TechRadar, covering news and hardware reviews\.
TikTok has attracted the ire of the European Union over its protection of children who use the video sharing platform\. The[European Commission announced](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_1679)preliminary findings today under the Digital Services Act \(DSA\) that offer specific issues to address\.
The Commission suggests that TikTok should adjust the default settings of minors’ “public” accounts so the content they post is only visible to TikTok users the teen has chosen to share it with, and that such content shouldn’t be recommended to other users in the For You feed\. Even accounts set to private can be easily discovered through the “following” lists of other users, and their profile photos can be seen by anyone\. If TikTok fails to address the concerns, it could face a DSA non\-compliance decision that imposes fines of up to 6 percent of the company’s global annual revenue\.
“Minors deserve a safe experience from the moment they go online\. The Digital Services Act requires platforms to build protections for minors into the design of their services, and holds them to account when they fail to do so,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in the announcement\. “A high level of protection should not be an opt\-in; it should be the default\. This is our responsibility for current and future generations of European children\.”
The preliminary findings follow UK communications regulator Ofcom launching a[similar child safety investigation](https://www.theverge.com/tech/966419/the-uk-is-scrutinizing-tiktok-over-child-safety)into TikTok last week, with updates expected in October\. The EU says its separate probe to evaluate the addictive “[rabbit hole effect](https://www.theverge.com/policy/874746/tiktok-addictive-eu-regulators-infinite-scroll-notifications-autoplay)” of TikTok’s recommender systems is still ongoing\.
**Follow topics and authors**from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates\.
- Jess Weatherbed
The EU Commission plans to target addictive design features like endless scrolling on TikTok and Instagram to protect children online, and has developed an age verification app.
The European Union is considering sweeping restrictions on children's social media access, including age limits and bans, following expert recommendations. The proposed legislation would require platforms to prove their services are safe for young users before allowing access.
TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to settle a lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly violating children's privacy laws under COPPA, including immediate payment and enhanced user safeguards.
TikTok backed out of a congressional committee meeting to avoid questions on child safety practices, amid ongoing scrutiny over Chinese data access and following Meta's recent settlement.
European researchers are struggling to access social media data from platforms like TikTok to study disinformation and harms, despite legal rights under the EU's Digital Services Act, as highlighted by a Romanian election case where researchers were denied access.