TikTok Pauses Lite App’s Reward Function Following EU Investigation

Brussels: Following an investigation by the European Union, TikTok stated on Wednesday that it was suspending a function that compensates users for viewing and enjoying videos in its offshoot TikTok Lite app in France and Spain.

The well-known social media site for sharing videos, which is run by the Chinese business ByteDance, said that it would stay suspended “while we address the concerns that they have raised.”.

“Our children are not guinea pigs for social media,” said Thierry Breton, the chief tech enforcer for the European Commission, who also announced that the EU inquiry will go on.

The only EU nations where TikTok Lite is now accessible are France and Spain, where it landed in March. Through the app’s rewards program, users who are at least 18 years old may accumulate points that can be redeemed for products like gift cards or vouchers.

The well-known TikTok software has a scaled-down version called TikTok Lite, which runs on slower internet connections and requires less memory on smartphones.

The European Commission expressed worries about the potential harm to users’ mental health on Monday by announcing an inquiry into TikTok Lite and threatening to halt the rewards program.

By Wednesday, the commission wanted TikTok to submit any defenses they had against the impending ban in addition to further material.

“Our cases against TikTok on the risk of platform addiction continue,” Breton said in a statement.

“We suspect that this reward feature could generate addiction and that TikTok did not do a diligent risk assessment and take effective mitigation measures prior to its launch,” he said.

Under a comprehensive new rule, the Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates digital enterprises operating in 27 countries to adequately control online material, the EU is conducting its second investigation into TikTok.

The commission launched an official investigation against TikTok in February due to claims that the company had breached its duty to safeguard kids online.

TikTok was squeezed

Pressure is also coming from across the Atlantic to TikTok.

After the Senate on Tuesday adopted legislation for TikTok to be separated from ByteDance, a measure banning the app cleared the US Congress.

Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, said that the firm will challenge the rule in US courts, claiming it effectively amounted to a ban.

Regarding the US action, the European Commission has declined to comment. Rather, it has concentrated on using the EU’s legal toolkit to align big IT with its regulations.

The EU has been using its legal authority against internet sites, most recently with its action against the TikTok Lite incentives program.

In addition, it is looking into claims of illicit material on Elon Musk’s previous Twitter account, X, a tech billionaire.

TikTok Lite users may earn prizes for logging in every day for ten days, viewing videos for a maximum of sixty to eighty minutes each day, and doing certain tasks like liking videos and following content producers.

Since August of last year, TikTok and 22 other “very large” digital platforms—including Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube—have been subject to harsher regulations under the DSA.

The bill allows the EU to impose hefty penalties on businesses, up to six percent of the yearly worldwide sales of digital firms. In the EU, repeat offenders may have their platforms shut down.