What just happened? It’s not just the US where TikTok is facing problems. The European Commission has given the company 24 hours to provide a risk assessment of a new service that rewards people for watching videos. There are concerns that it could lead to children becoming addicted to the platform.
TikTok Lite launched in France and Spain this month after being available in Asia for several years. As the name suggests, it has a smaller install size than the standard version of the app and requires less data usage. It’s also designed mostly for watching videos – users cannot create or upload their own content.
TikTok Lite also has a feature called Task & Reward Lite that offers prizes such as Amazon vouchers, PayPal gift cards, and TikTok’s in-app Coins currency used to tip people on the platform. Users must perform tasks to earn the rewards, including watching videos, liking content, inviting friends, or following accounts.
The European Commission said TikTok should have carried out a risk assessment before launching the app in the EU, and it now wants “more details.”
The Commission is concerned about the rewards feature’s impact on the protection of minors and the mental health of users, particularly in relation to addictive behavior. The Commission also wants information about what measures TikTok has put in place to mitigate these systemic risks.
Thierry Breton, European commissioner for internal markets, asked of TikTok Lite, “Is social media ‘lite’ as addictive and toxic as cigarettes ‘light’?”
Is social media “lite” as addictive and toxic as cigarettes “light”?
We have just sent a request for information regarding the launch of #TikTokLite.
We will spare no effort to protect minors under the #DSA. pic.twitter.com/3oC0Msm28J
– Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) April 17, 2024
TikTok must provide the risk assessment for TikTok Lite within 24 hours and the other requested information by 26 April, 2024. The Commission notes that it can impose fines for incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information in response to a request for information.
The commission opened a formal investigation into TikTok in February to assess whether it may have breached the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) in areas linked to the protection of minors, advertising transparency, data access for researchers, and the risk management of addictive design and harmful content.
Social media firms in the US are facing hundreds of lawsuits accusing them of being responsible for the harms they allegedly cause children, especially when it comes to addiction. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently won a dismissal in dozens of these suits seeking to hold him personally liable.
