EU Preliminary Findings Say TikTok's Public Minor Accounts Fail Safety Rules

Short answer: The European Commission's preliminary findings say TikTok's account settings do not give minors the high level of privacy, safety and security required by the Digital Services Act. The Commission's concern is not simply that teenagers can post publicly. It is that a minor's public content may be visible outside TikTok, discoverable through the For You feed, and reachable by people the child has not accepted.

The finding, published on July 24, 2026, is not a final infringement decision. TikTok can inspect the investigation file and respond in writing, while the European Board for Digital Services will be consulted. The Commission will then decide whether to close the matter, require changes, or issue a non-compliance decision.

What the Commission objected to

TikTok lets minors choose a public account. According to the Commission, that can make their content viewable by any TikTok user, including people without a TikTok account. Posts by older minors aged 16 and 17 may also be recommended to other users through the For You feed.

The Commission's proposed direction is precise: public content from minors should, by default, be visible only to TikTok users whom the minor has accepted. Older minors could still have a choice to share more broadly within TikTok, but their content should not be available to a global audience outside the platform. The Commission also says TikTok should stop recommending minors' content to other users through the For You feed.

That distinction matters. A setting that says “public” can mean more than a teenager's followers can see a post. It can also affect searchability, recommendation and the number of unknown adults who can encounter the account. In its Romanian-language summary, the Commission says even private accounts can remain easy to find through other users' follower and following lists, while profile photos can remain visible to people without TikTok accounts.

Why this is a preliminary finding

The Commission's language is deliberately provisional. Its statement says the preliminary findings do not predetermine the final result of the investigation. TikTok now has a right to review the evidence and answer. The regulator must assess that response before deciding whether the platform breached the DSA.

If the preliminary view is ultimately confirmed, the Commission may issue a non-compliance decision and calculate a fine according to the nature, gravity, recurrence and duration of the infringement. The maximum is 6% of the provider's worldwide annual turnover. That is a ceiling, not an announced penalty, and no fine has been imposed by this finding.

How the case fits the wider TikTok investigation

The Commission opened its formal DSA proceedings against TikTok on February 19, 2024. Its July 24 update says investigators examined the platform interface, internal data and documents, and interviews with law-enforcement officers and specialists in minor protection, child abuse and neuropsychology. The investigation has also examined TikTok's potentially addictive design, researcher access to public data and advertising transparency.

Some of those strands have already moved separately. The Commission adopted preliminary findings on potentially addictive design in February 2026, while its July statement says the investigation into the recommendation-system “rabbit hole” effect and age misrepresentation remains ongoing. The public-account issue therefore forms one part of a broader assessment of how TikTok designs its service for young users.

What happens next

1. TikTok reviews the evidence and sends a written response.
2. The European Board for Digital Services is consulted.
3. The Commission decides whether the preliminary view is confirmed and whether a compliance decision or penalty follows.

For parents and young users, the immediate lesson is narrower than a platform ban: “public” is an exposure choice, not just a visibility label. A safer-default debate asks who can find a minor, who can receive a recommendation, and whether content can be viewed beyond the platform. PanoramaDigest previously examined the EU panel's proposal for restricted social-media access for children under 13; this new case focuses on the settings that apply when a minor is already using a platform. For the regulatory background, see our explainer on how the EU's Digital Services Act and AI rules create different platform duties.

Source transparency

The primary source for this article is the European Commission's July 24 press release on TikTok's minor-account findings. The Commission's Romanian representation published a parallel summary explaining the possible 6% turnover ceiling and the next procedural steps. The claims above distinguish the Commission's preliminary assessment from any final decision.