TikTok makes drastic changes to meet new EU regulations

TikTok logo at its office in Culver City, California, USA

The law would require internet giants to take stronger action on data privacy, child protection, disinformation and hate speech. The EU’s surveillance target group includes 19 of the largest companies in the sector, including TikTok, Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft. They have until August 28 to comply with the new EU rules or face hefty financial penalties. The EU’s digital market commissioner, Thierry Breton, last month asked TikTok to speed up its implementation of the new standards.

In an announcement on August 4, TikTok said that the platform would allow users in Europe to "turn off personalization," referring to the "For You" feed, which allows users to see videos with content recommended based on their personal interests. In addition, TikTok's adjustments on this occasion also include making it easier for users in Europe to report illegal content, while also prohibiting ads targeting users aged 13-17 in Europe. TikTok also affirmed that it would be more transparent in its content moderation decisions, providing users with more information about why a video was removed.

Thanks to its AI-powered editing features and algorithms, TikTok is now a popular social media platform with over 1 billion users globally, the majority of whom are young people.

According to VNA