addictive

Maybe TikTok be one of the many applications installed on your mobile. It’s even likely that in recent days you’ve found yourself swiping almost without realizing it through a flood of videos competing for your attention. However, the European Commission does not look favorably on some of the dynamics of this social network, and everything indicates that the experience as we know it could change sooner rather than later. Addictive design. Brussels has focused on what it considers a possible “addictive design.” In a statement published this Fridaythe Commission points out several functions of the platform that, in its opinion, respond to a constant reward mechanism guided by the algorithm, something that “encourages the need to continue browsing and activates the ‘autopilot’ mode in platform users.” With the focus on minors. The executive arm of the European Union maintains that the company would not have taken into account relevant indicators of compulsive use, such as the time that minors spend on TikTok during the night, the frequency with which they open the application or other similar parameters. Added to this is the risk that “minors have an experience that is inappropriate for their age due to a misrepresentation of their age.” Insufficient measures. The community evaluation preliminarily concludes that the platform “does not appear to implement reasonable, proportionate and effective measures to mitigate the risks derived from its addictive design.” According to the Commission, current screen time management and parental control tools are not sufficiently effective: in the first case, because they can be easily circumvented; in the second, because they require additional skills on the part of the parents for their activation. The changes sought by the Commission. Beyond the diagnosis, Brussels also makes clear what kind of changes it hopes to see. In this phase, the Commission considers that TikTok would have to tweak basic elements of its design, such as progressively deactivating functions associated with continuous consumption (including infinite scroll), introducing truly effective pauses of use, also during the night, and adjusting its recommendation system. The objective would be to mitigate the risks that the analysis itself links to the current operation of the platform. How we got here. The origin of this research is found in the Digital Services Law (DSA), approved in 2022 to impose stricter obligations on large platforms operating in the European Union. The procedure against TikTok began on February 19, 2024 and is still ongoing, so there is still a long way to go before a final decision is made. As in any process of this type, the company has the right to defend itself. TikTok may examine the file and respond in writing to the preliminary conclusions. If these are confirmed and the company does not take the necessary measures, it could face a penalty of up to 6% of its global annual turnover. The company has already reacted. In an email sent to Xataka, TikTok’s Spanish office states that “the Commission’s preliminary conclusions present a categorically false and totally unfounded description of our platform, and we will take all necessary measures to challenge these conclusions by all means at our disposal.” Topic of the moment: social networks. All this occurs in a European context that is increasingly demanding with the use of social networks by minors. France has taken the first step to prohibit access to minors under 15 years of agewhile in Spain The Government of Pedro Sánchez is working on a similar measure with the intention of setting the limit at 16 years.. Images | Guillaume Perigois | Eyestetix Studio In Xataka | The science of “doomscrolling”: how technology hacked psychology so we can’t let go of our phones