The Compliance of TikTok's Infinite Scrolling Interface with the GDPR

Abstract

Infinite scrolling – the endless scroll interface implemented in many social media platforms for content navigation, such as Instagram's "Reels" function and TikTok’s short-video feeds – is a popular design that, while easy to use, is drawing attention due to its possible negative consequences to users.

Research in the fields of Human-Computer Interactions (HCI) and Psychology found that infinite scrolling can cause many adverse effects on individuals, including the instigation of compulsory social media use and increased session time against the users’ will. Additionally, TikTok’s privacy policy reveals that, among other practices, the intensity of some of its data processing activities is dependent on how much users scroll on their content feeds. In this sense, infinite scrolling’s potential to increase session time may lead to an unfair expansion in the amount of data collected by the platform – resulting in a possible infringement of the GDPR.

Considering this interaction and others, my thesis sought to study to what extent the effects of TikTok's infinite scrolling impact the principles of data processing in the GDPR. By composing a literature review on the effects of infinite scrolling and analysing how TikTok collects personal data, it was possible to assess how infinite scrolling interferes with data processing in the platform and, subsequentially, the degree to which the GDPR’s principles of data processing may be affected.

It was found that the infinite scrolling’s concealed effects of increasing session time and instigating compulsory behaviour in TikTok users may lead to violations of the GDPR’s principles of fairness, lawfulness, transparency, data protection by design and by default, and accountability. Still, compliance with the GDPR seems to be possible if TikTok implements adequate safeguards to protect users from infinite scrolling’s negative consequences.

However, the lack of empirical data and TikTok’s opaqueness regarding its data processing activities limited the scope of these assessments. It is suggested that further studies should be conducted to assess the extent of these impacts in TikTok and other platforms.