Chinese-owned video sharing platform TikTok introduced on Wednesday that it’s voluntarily suspending the rewards scheme for its new TikTok Lite app, amid a authorized investigation by the European Commission.
The fee mentioned on Monday that it may order TikTok to droop the rewards function until the corporate demonstrated – inside 48 hours – that it poses no threat of significant hurt. The fee additionally mentioned the corporate needed to present it had complied with threat evaluation and mitigation guidelines for big platforms below the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
On Wednesday, TikTok posted on X: “TikTok always seeks to engage constructively with the EU Commission and other regulators. We are therefore voluntarily suspending the rewards functions in TikTok Lite while we address the concerns that they have raised.”
The EU probe considerations the best way TikTok Lite lets customers gather factors by watching movies and change them for issues of worth, reminiscent of Amazon vouchers. The fee mentioned on Monday that it was involved the scheme “has been launched without prior diligent assessment of the risks it entails, in particular those related to the addictive effect.”
TikTok Lite, which has similarities to the wildly standard TikTok app however makes use of much less reminiscence and bandwidth, had its European launch in Spain and France this month.
The fee was significantly involved concerning the attainable results on kids, officers mentioned.
Responding to the announcement on Wednesday, EU business commissioner Thierry Breton mentioned on X: “Our children are not guinea pigs for social media. I take note of TikTok’s decision to suspend the TikTokLite “Reward Program” in the EU. The cases against TikTok on the risk of addictiveness of the platform continue.”
TikTok despatched dpa a press release on Tuesday saying that “the TikTok Lite rewards hub is not available to under 18s, and there is a daily limit on video watch tasks. We will continue discussions with the commission.”
On Tuesday, European Commission spokesman confirmed that it had acquired a reply from TikTok earlier than the primary deadline. He mentioned the EU government will “assess the response and decide on potential next steps.”
If the fee in the end concludes that TikTok has fallen wanting its risk-assessment and risk-mitigation obligations below the DSA, it may wonderful the corporate as much as 6% of its international annual income.
The DSA’s risk-mitigation guidelines for Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) – these with greater than 45 million month-to-month energetic customers within the European Union – got here into pressure in August 2023.
Currently-listed VLOPs embrace TikTok, X – previously generally known as Twitter – and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms.
Source: www.anews.com.tr
