EU Preliminarily Finds TikTok's 'For You' Algorithm in Breach of the DSA Over 'Rabbit Holes'

The European Commission said on Friday 6 November 2026 that it has preliminarily found TikTok in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA) over the "rabbit hole effect" of its "For You" recommender system. The finding is provisional. No fine has been imposed, and TikTok can now see the file and reply.

What the Commission found

The release, IP/26/2361, says the more a user interacts with a type of content, the more the "For You" algorithm recommends similar content, and that this can be harmful when the repeated exposure involves content about sadness, isolation or body image. The Commission says these "rabbit holes" can harm users' mental health, "especially that of vulnerable adults and minors".

The findings cover two DSA duties:

• Risk assessment. The Commission preliminarily found that TikTok "did not adequately assess how its recommendation algorithm may lead users into such 'rabbit holes'".
• Risk mitigation. It also preliminarily concluded that TikTok "failed to implement proportionate, reasonable and effective mitigation measures to address these risks". It accepts that TikTok already has some measures in place but has preliminarily found that they "are not effective".

The algorithm design point

Most of the release is about how the recommender works. The Commission says the preliminary findings show that "the algorithm design may play an important role in the emergence of 'rabbit holes'". According to the release, the system uses engagement data such as watching and liking videos to personalise recommendations. When a user repeatedly watches or likes content that may be triggering, such as content about weight loss, "the system interprets these interactions as positive signs of interest and recommends more of the same."

The Commission says TikTok's countermeasures fall short in two ways:

• Measures to diversify recommendations "do not sufficiently reduce how often similar content is recommended".
• User controls do not work well enough. The release says "using the 'not interested' button may not be enough to change the content feed", and that "The algorithm prioritises showing users content based on viewing time, over their choice to see less of certain content."

At this stage of the investigation the Commission's view is that "TikTok needs to change the design of the 'For You' feed". As examples, it says TikTok should "rely more on users' explicit preferences, disable viewing time as an indicator to recommend content, increase the accessibility and usability of user controls, and regularly test its algorithm."

Henna Virkkunen, the Commission's Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, is quoted in the release: "Every time a user scrolls or likes a video on TikTok, the algorithm serves more of the same leading users down rabbit holes they cannot easily escape from."

What happens next

The release says TikTok can now exercise its right of defence. It may examine the documents in the Commission's investigation file and reply in writing to the preliminary findings. The European Board for Digital Services will be consulted at the same time.

If the Commission's views are ultimately confirmed, it may issue a non-compliance decision. The release says that decision can trigger a fine that can "reach up to but not more than 6% of the total worldwide annual turnover of the provider". The release also states: "These preliminary findings do not prejudge the outcome of the investigation."

The release does not include a response from TikTok.

Which articles, and the wider case

The 6 November release does not cite article numbers. It describes the findings as part of the Commission's formal proceedings against TikTok, which the Commission opened on Monday 19 February 2024. When it opened them, the Commission said one strand covered "the assessment and mitigation of systemic risks" from TikTok's design, "including algorithmic systems", that may create "so-called 'rabbit hole effects'". It said the suspected failures across the whole investigation would, if proven, infringe Articles 34(1), 34(2), 35(1), 28(1), 39(1) and 40(12) of the DSA.

The case has produced other findings. The Commission says it adopted preliminary findings on addictive design in February 2026, on protection of minors in July 2026, and on researcher data access in October 2025, and closed the advertising transparency strand with binding commitments in December 2025. Ireland's Digital Services Coordinator, Coimisiún na Meán, supported this investigation.

Why it matters

On our reading, the notable thing is how specific the Commission is about the recommender system's inputs. It does not only object to harmful content. It names one engagement signal, viewing time, and suggests switching it off as an indicator for recommending content. The Commission frames this as a preliminary view that TikTok can contest, and the outcome is not settled.