TikTok is making significant changes to comply with Digital Services Act (DSA) of European Union. In particular, users in Europe will have the ability to disable the custom algorithm that drives the “For You” and “Live” feeds on TikTok. As stated by the social network, this option will allow users to view “popular videos both from where they live and from around the worldrather than based on their individual interests.
TikTok, the feed algorithm becomes optional in Europe
This initiative connects to the new ones rules established by the DSA, which require large online platforms to allow users to opt not to receive personalized content. This content usually comes from the monitoring and profiling of user activities.
With these changes, TikTok’s search feature will show popular content in the user’s region. Instead, the “Follow” and “Friends” feeds will be displayed in chronological order when the user chooses a non-personalized view.
Another significant change involves older European users between 13 and 17 years old. Instead of having to manually opt out of personalized ads based on their online activities, users in this age group they will not automatically receive targeted ads.
TikTok is just one of 19 companies subject to DSA rules. These also include popular platforms such as YouTube, Instagram e Twitterr (sorry, X). As a result, these platforms will also make similar changes in Europe to comply with the new regulations. Although TikTok did not provide an exact date for the implementation of these changes, has stated that it aims to meet the required obligations by the deadline of August 28 provided by the DSA.