The European Union has ordered TikTok to modify its "addictive design" or face substantial fines, following an investigation into the video-sharing platform's adherence to online safety regulations. The EU's findings, announced in early February 2024, revealed that TikTok had not adequately assessed how features like autoplay could harm users, including children, and failed to implement sufficient measures to mitigate these risks, according to BBC Technology and BBC Business.
The investigation by the European Commission, which began in February 2024, highlighted concerns about the platform's design and its potential impact on user well-being. A TikTok spokesperson, in response to the BBC, dismissed the findings as a "categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform" and indicated plans to challenge them. The specific amount of potential fines was not immediately disclosed.
In other news, the head of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Ian Chapman, warned of "hard decisions" regarding the funding of future projects, according to BBC Technology. This comes as the public body, which manages £8 billion of taxpayer money annually for research and innovation, faces a government directive to "focus and do fewer things better." Chapman stated that these changes, expected to be fully implemented, will result in "negative outcomes for some" within the research community.
Meanwhile, in Canada, at least eight current and former Toronto police officers were arrested following an organized crime inquiry, as reported by The Guardian. The investigation exposed the "corrosive reach of organized crime" within Canada's largest municipal police force, with links to bribery, the drug trade, and a murder plot.
Finally, in Milan, Italy, hundreds of protesters rallied against the presence of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents before the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Games, according to Al Jazeera. The student-led demonstration, which took place on February 6, 2026, featured banners protesting ICE's presence in the city.
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