PARIS: The European Commission on Wednesday requested information from major social media platforms—YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok—regarding the algorithms that power their content recommendations.
This move aims to assess the potential systemic risks posed by these algorithms, particularly concerning electoral integrity, mental health, and the protection of minors.
The inquiries were made under the framework of the Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates greater accountability from tech companies in addressing harmful and illegal content.
In its statement, the Commission highlighted its focus on understanding how these platforms’ recommendation systems might contribute to the spread of illegal activities, such as drug promotion and hate speech.
TikTok, in particular, has been singled out for additional scrutiny. The EU Commission is seeking details about the measures TikTok has implemented to prevent malicious actors from manipulating its platform and to mitigate risks associated with electoral processes and civic discourse.
The platforms have been given a deadline of November 15 to respond to the Commission’s requests. Following the submission of this information, the EU will evaluate the responses and determine its next course of action, which may include fines for non-compliance.
This latest initiative is part of the EU’s broader strategy to enforce the DSA, which has already led to non-compliance proceedings against other tech giants, including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, as well as AliExpress.
