The European Commission wants TikTok to stop using viewing time to decide which videos to recommend. In preliminary findings issued November 6, 2026, the regulator said the platform had neither adequately assessed nor effectively addressed the risk of steering viewers into repeated exposure to potentially harmful material.
The Commission gives the example of someone who repeatedly watches weight-loss videos: the system treats that behavior as interest and recommends more. The Commission said TikTok’s “For You” feed can give viewing time more weight than the viewer’s explicit request to see less of a topic. Its concern is repeated exposure, particularly for minors and vulnerable adults, not a claim that any one video violates the law.
For stations and newsrooms distributing clips through TikTok, the distinction matters: time spent watching a clip and a viewer’s choice to see another like it are different signals. A change in which signal counts could change which clips reach viewers beyond a station’s followers. The findings do not require broadcasters to change their posts or establish that any outlet’s reach has changed.
TikTok disputes the findings and says they misrepresent its safeguards and user controls, according to its statement to Euronews. The company can inspect the Commission’s case file and respond in writing before a final decision under the Digital Services Act. The Commission has not imposed a fine or ordered a redesign in these findings.