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"The 'Rabbit Hole' effect, how TikTok endangers users' mental health", EU warns of heavy fines

2026-11-08 10:15:33Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

"The 'Rabbit Hole' effect, how TikTok endangers users'

The "Rabbit Hole" effect - the loss of information in the spiral - is leading to a new clash between the EU and TikTok. Brussels accuses the app of endangering the health of users. TikTok is threatened with a heavy fine.

 According to preliminary findings from the European Commission, TikTok is putting its users at risk through video recommendations on its platform. The company could face a fine after its algorithm exposed particularly vulnerable people to an endless stream of personalized videos that could worsen mental health problems, the Brussels authority said. The algorithm increases the risk of addiction, as well as eating disorders and anxiety, the Commission said.

The European Commission accuses TikTok of not sufficiently limiting this risk. According to Brussels, the protective measures so far have proven ineffective. Even the "I'm not interested" button is not enough to change the recommendations in the video feed, the Commission's assessment states.

 In focus "For You"

 The focus of the procedure is in particular the “For You” page, which aims to show users content that matches their interests as quickly as possible. The European Commission is seeking changes to this feature, as it fears the so-called “Rabbit Hole” effects (in Albanian: the rabbit hole effect or the effect of getting lost in the spiral of escalating information).

 This refers to the situation where a person becomes so deeply immersed in a topic that they have difficulty getting out of it. The term refers to the main character in the book “Alice in Wonderland,” who falls down a rabbit hole and ends up in another world. According to critics, TikTok’s algorithm can push users to repeatedly consume similar content, drawing them deeper and deeper into the same topics.

Algorithms can theoretically recognize and exploit these behavioral patterns to keep users on a platform longer. The European Commission criticized TikTok's algorithm for personalizing content that could be emotionally harmful, particularly putting children and young people at risk.

“This mechanism can be harmful when the content that is repeated endlessly is related, for example, to sadness, loneliness or body image,” the European Commission assessed. According to it, constant exposure to such videos can reinforce existing psychological problems and negatively affect the mental well-being of users.

According to the request, the algorithm should no longer be based on the time users spend watching a video. Instead, users should be given more control over the content that appears to them on the “For You” page, allowing them to more clearly define what they want to see on TikTok. The goal is for users to not only be guided by the algorithm’s automatic recommendations, but to have greater influence over the selection of content that appears to them./ DW


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