Will TikTok Lite, TikTok’s new program that rewards users for, among other things, watching videos and inviting friends and which was launched this month in France and Spain, be taken offline again? At least that is what the European Commission is threatening. The Chinese company behind the popular video app may not have conducted a prior risk analysis.
TikTok Lite is intended for people over 18 and contains a rewards program that allows users to earn points by, for example, watching videos, liking content, following active users or inviting friends. They can exchange those points for rewards, such as vouchers from Amazon and gift vouchers via Paypal.
However, the Commission is concerned about the programme. She asked TikTok last week for more information about the risk assessment that should have been made, especially regarding the impact on users’ mental health. The Commission fears that the program may stimulate addictive behavior.
However, TikTok has not provided that risk assessment. The Commission has now given the company time to do this again until tomorrow/Tuesday, April 23. TikTok faces a fine of up to 1 percent of its global annual turnover if it fails to do so.
But the Commission does not stop there: until a thorough assessment of the security of TikTok Lite has been carried out, it wants to take the program offline. Before it does this effectively, TikTok can still provide arguments to defend itself, it has until April 24 to do so.
The lack of a prior risk assessment of TikTok Lite suggests that the company is in violation of the new DSA Digital Services Act. As a major online platform, with at least 45 million users, TikTok falls under the direct supervision of the Commission. It has always said that it would not hesitate to enforce compliance with the law and to take sanctions if necessary.