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The European Commission on Monday opened an investigation into TikTok over suspected breaches of European Union rules on child protection and advertising transparency.
The commission is investigating whether TikTok’s algorithms may be addictive or create “rabbit hole effects.
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“The EU executive is also looking into the privacy settings TikTok provides for minors, as well as whether it is meeting obligations to provide a searchable repository of the ads shown on its platform.
The probe concerns potential breaches of the Digital Services Act (DSA), a relatively recent law governing online platforms.
The DSA requires platforms to manage various risks, including mental well-being and the rights of children.
It also forbids using minors’ data to show them targeted ads.
If TikTok is ultimately found to have breached the DSA’s risk mitigation rules, it could face fines as high as six per cent of its global annual revenue.
