The European Commission sent formal requests to online services YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok Wednesday, asking for information on the design and functioning of their recommender systems.
Under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), large online platforms are required to assess and adequately mitigate risks that stem from their recommender systems. This includes risks for the mental health of users and for the dissemination of harmful content arising from the engagement-based design of these algorithms.
YouTube and Snapchat have been asked 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 set up 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 measures 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.
The online platforms must provide the requested information by 15 November, following which the EU executive will decide its next steps. These could involve the formal opening of proceedings under the DSA.
The Commission has the power to impose fines, and periodic penalty payments in case of non-compliance.
Since the DSA entered into force, the Commission says it has focused on compliance with its provisions related to recommender systems. Recommender systems are a core part of the formal non-compliance proceedings opened by the EU against TikTok, AliExpress, Facebook and Instagram.
