European Commission Requests Information on Algorithms from YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat

The European Commission, under the Digital Services Act (DSA), today requested information from Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube regarding the functioning and design of their algorithms.

According to the press release, the European Union asked for further details on the recommendation systems and their risks to mental health, political influence, and protection of underaged users. The companies must reply by November 15, and if they fail to reply the European Commission could apply penalties.

“Based on the assessment of the replies, the Commission will assess the next steps,” states the public document.

The European Commission has made specific requests for the different platforms. For YouTube and Snapchat, the institution required detailed information on the parameters used for content recommendations to users and about the role of these algorithms in civic discourse, electoral processes, and mental well-being—including addictive content and rabbit holes—, as well as the protection of minors.

Snapchat and YouTube must also explain the measures their algorithms take to prevent the promotion of illegal drugs, hate speech, and other unlawful content.

TikTok, on the other hand, must provide more information regarding techniques to avoid manipulation from malicious actors and to reduce risks regarding politics, civic discourse, and pluralism. The European Commission mentions that the platform could have an impact through its recommendation system.

According to Reuters, the EU has previously initiated action proceedings under the DSA, which mandates that major tech firms—including Meta, AliExpress, and TikTok—improve their efforts to address illegal and harmful content on their platforms.

Just a few days ago, Google went under investigation for its AI model by the Data Protection Commission (DPC).