The European Union on Friday ordered TikTok to change its addictive design, threatening hefty fines under the EU’s digital content rules.

In preliminary findings from an investigation that began two years ago, the European Commission concluded that TikTok is not taking effective steps to address the app’s negative effects, particularly on minors and vulnerable adults.

Commission spokesman Thomas Reigner said that TikTok’s addictive design violates the Digital Services Act, citing concerns about features such as continuous content browsing, autoplay, push notifications, and a personalized recommendation system.

Reigner added that these features lead to compulsive use of the app, especially among children, posing serious risks to their mental health and well-being. The measures taken by TikTok are wholly inadequate.

TikTok rejected the European Commission’s findings, stating that they “present a completely false and unfounded picture of our platform,” according to a statement from its spokesperson.

The spokesperson emphasized that the platform “will take all necessary steps to challenge these findings through all available means.”

Allies of US President Donald Trump in Congress have stated that the European Commission’s “punitive measures” are a pretext for stifling political discourse and pressuring companies.

The Digital Services Act is part of a broader set of legal tools adopted by the European Union in recent years to curb the excesses of major technology companies.

Officials have previously stated that TikTok is cooperating with EU digital regulators.

TikTok will now have access to the EU’s findings to defend itself against these allegations.

“TikTok needs to take action and change the design of its service in Europe to protect the safety and well-being of minors,” EU technology chief Hina Virkkonen told reporters.

The Commission suggested changes the platform could make, such as implementing continuous content playback, enforcing “effective screen time breaks” (including at night), and improving its user preferences system—the algorithms platforms use to deliver content based on user preferences.

The February 2024 investigation is the first against TikTok under the Digital Services Act, a powerful EU content management law that angered the Trump administration.