The European Commission said the app posed a “risk of serious harm to the mental health of users,” including minors.
European Union launches investigation into TikTok spinoff Lite app, suspends 'addictive' feature that rewards users for watching and liking videos over child safety concerns Then he threatened.
TikTok Lite debuted in France and Spain in March, allowing users 18 and older to earn points that can be redeemed for items like coupons and gift cards through the app's rewards program.
The European Commission said in a statement on Monday that it was concerned about the app's “risk of serious damage to the mental health of its users,” including minors.
TikTok Lite is a smaller version of the popular TikTok app, built to take up less memory on your smartphone and run on slower internet connections.
The commission said last week that TikTok failed to submit a risk assessment for its spinoff app by an April 18 deadline and asked the company to do so by Tuesday.
It has threatened to take interim measures, including suspending incentive programs in the European Union “until safety assessments are completed.”
TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, has until Wednesday to file a formal defense against such a move.
The commission also imposed fines of up to 1% of TikTok's annual gross revenue or global revenue and periodic penalties of up to 5% of average global daily revenue or annual revenue if TikTok fails to comply with the request. warned that it may impose charges.
TikTok said it would continue discussions with the commission and said the benefits program is not available to minors.
Second TikTok survey
The investigation is the EU's second investigation into TikTok under the Digital Services Act (DSA), a sweeping new law that requires digital companies to crack down on online content.
“We suspect that TikTok's 'Lite' is as toxic and addictive as cigarette 'Lite,'” said Thierry Breton, the European Commission's top technical enforcement officer.
“Unless TikTok provides convincing evidence of its safety, which we have not been able to do to date, we remain prepared to invoke DSA interim measures, including suspending TikTok Lite functionality,” Brereton said. .
The commission also asked about measures to mitigate “systemic risks” on TikTok's Lite app and gave the platform until May 3 to respond.
TikTok Lite users log in every day for 10 days, spend time watching videos (limited to 60 to 85 minutes per day), and do certain things such as liking videos and following content creators. You can earn rewards by performing these actions.
The commission believes TikTok launched the app “without a careful prior assessment of the risks involved, particularly those related to the addictive nature of the platform, and without effective risk mitigation measures in place.” said.
TikTok is one of 22 “very large” digital platforms, including Amazon, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, that have been required to comply with stricter rules under the DSA since August last year.
The law gives the EU the power to impose hefty fines on digital companies, which can reach up to 6% of their global annual revenue.
Repeat offenders can even be blocked from the platform in the 27-nation European Union.
In February, the commission launched a formal investigation into TikTok under the DSA for allegedly breaching its obligations to protect minors online.