The EU launched on Monday a formal inquiry against TikTok for suspected violations of its duty to safeguard kids online, as part of a major new rule on digital content enforcement. It is the second investigation into a major online platform since Brussels passed the Digital Services Act (DSA), which targeted tech tycoon Elon Musk's X in December.

Highlights: 

• The EU has launched a formal investigation against TikTok over suspected violations.
• Brussels is particularly concerned about TikTok's algorithmic content distribution.
• The European Commission emphasizes TikTok's obligation to comply with the DSA.

Brussels is particularly worried that the video-sharing app controlled by China's ByteDance is not doing enough to address the detrimental effects on young people.

A major concern is the so-called "rabbit hole" effect, which happens when users are served similar information based on an algorithm, sometimes leading to more harmful content.

The European Commission is particularly concerned about TikTok's age verification measures, which it says "may not be reasonable, proportionate, and effective".

The commission initiated "formal proceedings to assess whether TikTok may have breached" the DSA in other areas such as "advertising transparency" and "data access for researchers".

The move follows an analysis of TikTok's risk assessment report and its responses to Brussels' demands for further information on the video-sharing platform's safeguards against unlawful material, minors' protection, and data access.

'Spare no effort.'

The commission stated that regulators would continue to gather information, and that the measure gives them the authority to conduct additional enforcement actions if needed.

"As a platform that reaches millions of children and teenagers, TikTok must fully comply with the DSA and has a particular role to play in the protection of minors online," said Thierry Breton, the EU's internal market commissioner.

"We are initiating this formal infringement process today to guarantee that appropriate measures are made to protect the physical and mental well-being of young Europeans. "We must make every effort to protect our children," Breton stressed.

TikTok has more than 142 million monthly subscribers in the EU, up from 125 million last year.

"TikTok needs to take a close look at the services they offer and carefully consider the risks that they pose to their users -- young and old," commission executive vice president Margrethe Vestager stated.

The formal investigation will focus on four areas: how TikTok analyzes and mitigates systemic risks; how the firm protects minors' privacy and safety; TikTok's efforts to provide a "reliable" advertisement repository; and the initiatives taken to boost transparency.

TikTok announced that it was striving to safeguard kids online.

"TikTok has introduced features and controls to safeguard teens as well as keep under 13s off the app, which concerns the whole industry is dealing with," according to a spokeswoman for TikTok.

Social media businesses operating in the EU are subject to the Digital Services Act, which was passed in August. The act imposes harsher rules on major digital companies — defined as those with more than 45 million monthly users in the union — and attempts to defend people's rights online.