Platforms Accused of Addictive Design

Alongside age bans, regulators have begun addressing possible addictive design of platforms. The European Commission has preliminarily found TikTok in breach of the Digital Services Act, citing concerns over “addictive design” that may harm children and teenagers. The focus is not on content, but on architecture — specifically TikTok’s recommender systems, infinite scroll and engagement features, and whether they sufficiently mitigate risks to young users.

The Commission’s early view is that features driving compulsive use may need to be disabled or redesigned. If upheld, the ruling could expose the platform to significant fines. More importantly, it signals a regulatory shift Scrutiny is moving upstream, from what is shown, to how platforms are built and optimised.

Why this matters for advertisers? The direction of travel is clear. Protecting minors and auditing algorithms are growing regulatory priorities in the social media age. This is about more than one platform. European regulators are now treating algorithm design, youth engagement mechanics and recommender systems as compliance issues. If platform architecture changes, whether through design restrictions or age-based safeguards, advertising models, targeting capability and inventory dynamics will shift with it.