Overview
- Amnesty International France formally reported TikTok to Arcom, claiming the platform failed to meet Digital Services Act obligations to protect young users.
- New tests found adolescent-like accounts were funneled toward depressive content within 15–20 minutes, with suicidal ideation appearing on two profiles within 45 minutes.
- The NGO created three fictitious 13-year-old profiles and, with the Algorithmic Transparency Institute, ran 12 automated accounts that showed further amplification of mental-health content.
- TikTok rejected the methodology as unrepresentative and said it proactively provides an age-appropriate experience, asserting nine in ten violating videos are removed before they are viewed.
- Amnesty’s action adds to the European Commission’s ongoing probe opened in February 2024, as some French families pursue individual complaints and a collective legal effort over alleged harms.