Under the Digital Services Act (DSA), the European Commission issued a request for information on the design and operation of recommender systems for YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok, according to Euractiv.
Recommender systems, algorithms that suggest content to users, are at the “heart” of the systemic risks, a senior Commission official said on Wednesday. Such algorithms are widely seen as having the potential to cause possible harm, from extremism to misinformation about vaccines.
The official stated that under the DSA, users should be given a choice of recommended algorithms. They said an earlier investigation examined risks related to protecting minors, such as suicide-related content.
For Snapchat, we are asking questions on whether the recommended systems whether the recommended systems recommend illicit drugs.
The Commission is not pursuing Meta, Facebook and parent company Instagram, as the same issues are being addressed in formal proceedings opened against the company before the summer, the official added.
Everybody who has drafted the request has either a PhD in computer science or algorithmic harm.
Companies have to submit the information by 15 November.
