Beyond transparency: The DSA takes on addictive design

On 6 February 2026, the European Commission made a preliminary finding that TikTok had breached the Digital Services Act (DSA) — not because of illegal content, not because of data misuse, but because of the way the platform was designed to keep users scrolling. Infinite scroll, algorithmic amplification of emotionally charged content, push notifications engineered to interrupt, and the deliberate absence of stopping cues: these are the features now at the center of a landmark EU enforcement action.

For anyone working on AI governance and digital regulation, this moment demands attention. It marks the first time the EU has directly targeted what researchers call addictive design — the architecture of compulsive engagement — as a regulatory violation in its own right.