uthorities in the European Union said that the video-sharing platform TikTok is in breach of online content regulations, warning the company to change “addictive” features in order to protect minors from compulsive use.
The European Commission shared the preliminary conclusions of a probe into TikTok on Friday, stating that features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and a personalised recommendation algorithm encouraged addiction.
“TikTok has to take actions and they have to change the design of their service in Europe to protect our minors,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen told reporters.
European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said the “measures that TikTok has in place are simply not enough”.
“These features lead to the compulsive use of the app, especially for our kids, and this poses major risks to their mental health and wellbeing,” Regnier said, stating that the app is in violation of the Digital Services Act.
Read the full article on Al Jazeera.
In the past few years internet addiction (IA) and internet gaming disorder (IGD) have become very frequent, leading to many personality and psychiatric disorders including low self-esteem, impulsivity, poor sleep quality, mood disorder, and suicide. IA has been included in Appendix III of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) as IGD. In addition, IA leads to many neuroanatomical and neurochemical alterations including cortical thinning of various components of the brain and altered dopaminergic reward circuitry.
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