What specific risks do minors face on TikTok, according to the EU?

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EU Accuses TikTok of Exposing Minors to Risks Through Inadequate Account Settings

The European Union has accused TikTok of failing to adequately protect children, citing account settings that expose minors to risks such as cyberbullying and predatory behaviour. The EU's preliminary findings indicate that TikTok's default settings allow minors' accounts and content to be visible too widely, contrary to the Digital Services Act (DSA) requirements for strong safety protections. The bloc is calling for TikTok to adjust these settings to ensure minors' accounts are only visible to approved users.
Exposure to Cyberbullying and Predatory Behaviour

The EU's investigation found that minors on TikTok face significant risks, including unwanted contact, cyberbullying, and predatory behaviour, due to the platform's account settings. These risks arise because minors can make their accounts public, allowing anyone to view their content, or even with private accounts, they can be easily discovered through follower lists. The EU's preliminary view is that these settings do not meet the high level of protection mandated by the Digital Services Act.
Inadequate Default Safety Settings

A core concern for the European Union is that TikTok's default account settings do not provide the strongest safety and security protections for minors, as required under the DSA. The EU stated that high levels of protection should be the default, not an option users must actively select. This contrasts with the current situation where minors' accounts can be easily made public or found, thereby increasing their exposure to potential harm.
EU's Demand for Default Privacy Adjustments

To address these identified risks, the EU has specifically instructed TikTok to modify the default settings for minors' public accounts. The proposed change would restrict visibility to only those users whom the child has explicitly accepted as connections. This measure aims to proactively safeguard children by ensuring their online presence is not inadvertently exposed to a broader audience.

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What specific risks do minors face on TikTok, according to the EU?

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