The European Commission has sent a request for information to YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok under the Digital Services Act, asking them to provide more information on the design and functioning of their recommender systems. Under the DSA, platforms must assess and adequately mitigate risks stemming from their recommender systems, including risks for the mental health of users and the dissemination of harmful content arising from the engagement-based design of the algorithms.
YouTube and Snapchat are requested to provide detailed information on the parameters used by their algorithms to recommend content to users, as well as their role in amplifying certain systemic risks, including those related to the electoral process and civic discourse, users’ mental well-being (e.g. addictive behaviour and content ‘rabbit holes’), and the protection of minors. The questions also concern the platforms’ measures to mitigate the potential influence of their recommender systems on the spread of illegal content, such as promoting illegal drugs and hate speech.
TikTok has been requested to provide more information on the measures it adopted to avoid the manipulation of the service by malicious actors and to mitigate risks related to elections, pluralism of media, and civic discourse, which may be amplified by certain recommender systems.
YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok must provide the requested information by 15 November. Based on the replies, the Commission will assess the next steps. This could lead to formal proceedings under Article 66 of the DSA.
Under Article 74 (2) of the DSA, the Commission can impose fines for incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information in response to requests for information. If a party does not reply, the Commission may issue a formal request by decision in which case, failure to reply by the deadline could lead to the Commission imposing periodic penalty payments.
The Commission has focused on the compliance with the DSA provisions related to recommender systems since the DSA entered into force. Among other things, recommender systems are a core part of the formal non-compliance proceedings opened against TikTok, AliExpress, Facebook and Instagram.
