The Maze:
Source: European Commission. Cropped excerpt on viewing time and the “Not interested” control. © European Union, 2026, CC BY 4.0.
The European Commission said on November 6 that TikTok’s For You feed, the app’s personalized stream of short videos, may expose people in the EU to too many similar videos on potentially harmful topics. The Commission’s findings are preliminary. One change it suggested would stop TikTok using how long someone watches a video to decide what to recommend next. That could matter to online retailers who rely on unpaid creator videos to reach European shoppers who don’t already follow them.
The Details:
Watching a video can lead to more of the same. TikTok says it uses what viewers do, including how long they watch, to help decide which videos appear in For You. The Commission describes what can happen when someone repeatedly watches or likes videos about body image. The feed can read those actions as a sign of interest and suggest more videos on the same topic. The regulator says repeated exposure may harm users’ wellbeing, especially for minors and vulnerable adults. Under the Digital Services Act, the EU law that requires its largest online platforms to assess and reduce risks arising from their design, the Commission preliminarily found that TikTok fell short on both duties.
A direct request to see less can lose to viewing time. TikTok already lets people flag a video as “Not interested” and adjust how frequently they see broad topics. The Commission says the feed can give viewing time more weight than a request to see fewer similar videos. It also says TikTok’s attempts to make recommendations more varied may do too little to break up runs of similar content. Besides dropping viewing time as an input, the Commission suggested giving viewers’ stated preferences more influence, making controls easier to use and testing the feed regularly. It did not set out a replacement formula or a rollout date.
TikTok can review the evidence and respond. The November findings address what people repeatedly see. A separate preliminary finding in February focused on features that can keep people scrolling. TikTok may examine the case file and respond in writing to the new findings, while the Commission consults a board of national digital services regulators. If the Commission confirms its findings and issues a formal decision that TikTok breached the law, a fine could reach up to 6% of the provider’s total worldwide annual turnover, meaning its yearly revenue around the world.
MarketMaze Take:
A retailer working with creators can use viewing time to see whether a product demo holds attention. How far that demo travels is a separate question. For You can recommend the video to people who have never heard of the creator. If TikTok drops viewing time from the rules it uses for viewers in the EU, or gives more weight to topics people deliberately choose, a demo that holds attention could reach a different audience.
The Commission’s release concerns video recommendations in the EU. Retailers planning campaigns across markets would need to see which viewers any revised rules cover. If TikTok changes how it picks videos in the EU, a campaign reaching viewers elsewhere would be affected only if TikTok made similar changes there.
Sources: European Commission (excerpt licence CC BY 4.0) · TikTok Help Center · TikTok Newsroom · PPC Land
