YouTube Faces EU Complaint Over Homepage Recommendation System

The European Digital Rights Initiative filed a complaint against Google Ireland with the Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications, alleging that YouTube’s homepage design may breach European Union law.

The complaint claims the platform promotes video recommendations based on user activity, while making the option without profiling harder to access. According to the complaint, users who want recommendations without profiling must disable YouTube watch history, which removes stored viewing data from their Google account. The organisation said such interface practices restrict user choice. The complaint alleges that the design may breach the European Union’s Digital Services Act. Jan Penfrat from the European Digital Rights Initiative said the complaint focuses on how the platform promotes profiling-based recommendations.

The European Commission said it is aware of the complaint and is in contact with regulators. YouTube said users can control recommendation settings on the platform.