Tiktok recently launched the Tiktok Lite app in France and Spain, where users can earn reward points for watching videos. However, social media service Tiktok has voluntarily suspended the reward program of the Tiktok Lite application in response to concerns raised by the EU. The EU Commission had given Tiktok until Wednesday to respond to these concerns, or the application would face a potential ban.
The Tiktok Lite app includes a reward program aimed at users over 18 years old, where users can earn points by completing tasks such as watching videos, liking content, or following other users. These points can be exchanged for rewards such as Amazon discount coupons or Tiktok virtual coins.
In particular, the EU Commission specifically asked Tiktok to provide information on how the company has assessed potential risks related to the rewards program, particularly regarding its impact on users’ mental health and addiction to the platform. However, Tiktok did not meet this deadline and as a result an official investigation was launched under the Digital Services Act.
This is not the first time that Tiktok has faced scrutiny from European regulators; earlier this year there was another procedure against them under the Digital Services Act which focused on issues such as illegal content and disinformation. Non-compliance with this act can result in fines of up to six percent of a company’s global turnover.
In light of this scrutiny, Tiktok has decided to suspend its reward program on the Tiktok Lite app in France and Spain. This decision comes as the company attempts to address concerns related to