TikTok Suspends Rewards Program in Europe Amid EU Investigations
TikTok has voluntarily suspended its rewards program in the TikTok Lite app in France and Spain for an initial period of 60 days for new users and by the end of the week for all other users. The suspension comes in response to concerns raised by the European Commission (EC) about the potential impact of the program on users’ mental health, particularly in relation to the stimulation of addictive behavior.
The EC is conducting two investigations under the DSA, one into the launch of TikTok Lite and another into the risk assessment conducted by TikTok prior to rolling out the rewards program. The Commission quizzed TikTok about the potential impact on users’ mental health and requested a risk assessment, which was submitted by the company yesterday.
The EC also imposed interim measures to suspend the Lite rewards program in the EU pending the assessment of its safety. TikTok had until today to respond to the Commission with its defense.
In response to TikTok’s voluntary suspension, EU Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton said, “Our cases against TikTok on the risk of addictiveness of the platform continue, including the investigation to establish whether the launch of TikTok Lite was done in compliance with the DSA. Our children are not guinea pigs for social media. The DSA ensures the safety of our EU online space.”
Through TikTok Lite, users over 18 years old could earn points under a “Reward Program” by performing certain tasks on the app, such as watching videos, liking content, following creators, or inviting friends to join. These points could be exchanged for rewards, such as Amazon vouchers, gift cards via PayPal, or TikTok’s coins currency.
The EC opened its first non-compliance probe under the DSA against TikTok in February.
