The European Union today said it’s investigating TikTok over potential Digital Services Act breaches concerning whether the social media platform has done enough to protect children from harm in the bloc.

ByteDance Ltd.-owned TikTok, which recently cried foul over the fees it will have to pay for the EU’s new online moderation policies, was fined over $350 million in 2023 for not doing enough to protect young people’s privacy in the EU. The current probe is far-reaching, covering whether the platform does enough to prevent “addiction,” and it will also look at ad transparency and data access for researchers. It’s thought TikTok currently has about 150 million users in the EU.

In a press release, the commission talked about the possible “negative effects” of TikTok’s design, including its “algorithmic systems” that may stimulate addiction by creating “rabbit holes” for kids to go down. “Such assessment is required to counter potential risks for the exercise of the fundamental right to the person’s physical and mental well-being, the respect of the rights of the child as well as its impact on radicalization processes,” the commission added.

It will also be asked if TikTok currently does enough to protect young people from content they shouldn’t see through age verification tools that are stringent enough. Are those tools “reasonable, proportionate and effective?” Do the default privacy settings on the platform provide protection? Does the site provide a list of ads that are searchable and reliable?

If the answer is no, TikTok could be looking at another massive fine. The probe will be a lengthy process, starting with evidence gathering, inspections and interviews, followed by possible interim measures and noncompliance decisions.

Elon Musk’s X Corp. is also under investigation by the EU for breaching rules relating to disinformation, something the EU also wanted TikTok and other social media platforms about.

TikTok was one of the companies that put forward a representative in January to face a Senate Judiciary Committee to talk about possible harms to children, although in this case, it was Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg who seemed to take most of the flak. The U.S. is currently in the process of introducing a new bill regarding child safety online.

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