As YouTube and Meta defend themselves over addictiveness in US courts, Europe is throwing the spotlight on TikTok, making the Chinese-owned company its big test case for this form of Digital Services Act enforcement. But the DSA won’t be the last legislation used to tackle apps’ addictive nature – an issue that is still the subject of much debate.
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REFERENCES:
Reuters on Meta and YouTube’s US trial https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/instagram-youtube-addiction-trial-kicks-off-los-angeles-2026-02-09/
BBC on TikTok settling addictiveness trial in US
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c24g8v6qr1mo
European Commission press release on its TikTok findings https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_312
ABC on the influential social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, who says social media is addictive https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lifematters/jonathan-haidt-anxious-generation-social-media-smartphones/103993554
Ford Forum on neuroscientist Dean Burnett, who argues against TikTok’s addictive nature https://www.fordforum.org/observer-essays/2025/07/24/addiction-fiction
Scientific Reports article by Ian Anderson and Wendy Wood: Overestimates of social media addiction are common but costly https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-27053-2
EU Legislative Train Schedule (yes this is a thing) on the Digital Fairness Act https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-protecting-our-democracy-upholding-our-values/file-digital-fairness-act
