It’s become something of a meme to think of social media as a digital skinner box, but is that enough to warrant action against it? The European Commission seems to think so, as it announced that ubiquitous short form video app TikTok is “in breach of the Digital Services Act for its addictive design,” in a February 5 press release.
The release states: “The Commission’s investigation preliminarily indicates that TikTok did not adequately assess how these addictive features could harm the physical and mental wellbeing of its users, including minors and vulnerable adults … by constantly ‘rewarding’ users with new content, certain design features of TikTok fuel the urge to keep scrolling and shift the brain of users into ‘autopilot mode’.”
In fact, it may be a while before any changes come of this. The EU hit X with a €120 million fine last year for “deceptive design practices” and other regulation breaches, which Elon Musk called “insane.” I don’t know if you’ve been on X lately, but fines aside, it’s not exactly had a come-to-Jesus moment. How TikTok will or won’t change in response to this wave of scrutiny is yet to be seen, but perhaps easy to guess.
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