End of the ‘Endless Scroll’? Why the EU is Forcing TikTok to Redesign Your Feed
2 min readNew DelhiFeb 18, 2026 03:46 PM IST
After making USB-C the default port on all smartphones and electronic appliances, the European Union is now reportedly going after doom-scrolling. The European Commission has reportedly asked TikTok to change some of its key features, including the ability to endlessly scroll (also called doom scrolling) on the platform.
According to a report by Politico, the European Commission is, for the first time, trying to put an end to social media addiction. As it turns out, the EU has also asked TikTok to enforce strict screen time breaks and change its recommendation algorithm. The move comes after the commission recently declared that the social media platform’s design was addictive to users, especially children.
In a statement to the publication, Katarzyna Szymielewicz, the president of Panoptykon Foundation, a Polish civil society group, said that the the commision asking TikTok to change its design of service is “ground-breaking for the business model fueled by surveillance and advertising.”
Apart from TikTok, Meta’s social media platforms – Facebook and Instagram are also being actively investigated for their addictive design.
The findings, under the Digital Services Act, mark the first time the European Commission is looking at a social media platform’s design. While TikTok has said it will fight against the findings, it would have to pay up to 6% of its global annual revenue if it loses against the commission.
The Digital Services Act requires social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok to assess risk to their users, which are vaguely defined in the law, making it unclear how much power the regulator has over such platforms.
If the EU chooses to make changes to TikTok’s basic design, the law could have effects outside of the region as well.
Story continues below this ad
However, it will take some time before the European Commission announces its verdict. In case of Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), the DSA enforcement took more than a year to decide whether the platform was complying with its rules.
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
