EU may suspend TikTok Lite’s addictive rewards
— The EU on Monday launched a probe into TikTok’s spinoff Lite app and threatened to suspend an “addictive” feature on it that rewards users for watching and liking videos, amid child safety concerns.
TikTok Lite arrived in France and Spain in March allowing users aged 18 and over to earn points that can be exchanged for goods like vouchers or gift cards through the app’s rewards program.
The European Commission said in a statement it has concerns about the app’s “risks of serious damage for the mental health of users,” including minors.
TikTok Lite is a smaller version of the popular TikTok app, taking up less memory in a smartphone and made to perform over slower internet connections.
TikTok last week failed to provide a risk assessment for the spinoff app by an April 18 deadline, the commission said, demanding the company now hand it over by Tuesday.
It is threatening to impose interim measures including suspending the rewards program in the European Union “pending the assessment of its safety.”
TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, has until Wednesday to present a formal defense against such a measure.
The commission also warned if TikTok failed to reply to the request, it could impose fines of up to one percent of its total annual income or of its global turnover and periodic penalties up to five percent of its average daily income or annual turnover worldwide.
TikTok said it would continue discussions with the commission but insisted the program was not available to minors.
“We are disappointed with this decision — the TikTok Lite rewards hub is not available to under 18s, and there is a daily limit on video watch tasks,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement.
Second TikTok probe
The probe is the EU’s second against TikTok under a sweeping new law, the Digital Services Act (DSA), that demands digital firms do more to police content online.
“We suspect TikTok ‘Lite’ could be as toxic and addictive as cigarettes ‘light’,” said the European Commission’s top tech enforcer, Thierry Breton.
“Unless TikTok provides compelling proof of its safety, which it has failed to do until now, we stand ready to trigger DSA interim measures including the suspension of TikTok Lite features,” Breton said.