TikTok Lite: EU closes addictive obtain case after TikTok commits to not speak again rewards mechanism | TechCrunch – Techcrunch
The European Commission has closed a Digital Services and products Act (DSA) investigation of a rewards feature in TikTok Lite by accepting commitments from the social media huge to permanently withdraw the feature from the EU.
The TikTok Lite “job and reward” mechanism, launched in France and Spain earlier this 365 days, lets users assassinate functions for doing in-app activities enjoy staring at and liking videos. These functions could well perchance moreover fair be exchanged for Amazon vouchers. TikTok Lite is an different, lower-bandwidth version of TikTok’s app that the firm offers in some markets.
TikTok has also agreed not to take a glimpse at and circumvent its dedication, equivalent to by launching the an identical feature under a special name or deploying a version that serves as an an identical different, based fully on the Commission. Even supposing the settlement applies to the TikTok Lite reward mechanism the EU changed into once investigating, it’s not a blanket ban on TikTok launching any rewards functions at some point.
When the EU opened a probe of the rewards feature again in April, the Commission mentioned it changed into once stricken the obtain of the mechanism could well perchance negatively influence the mental health of young users by “stimulating addictive habits.”
TikTok had temporarily suspended the rewards mechanism within the EU rapidly after the Commission launched its investigation. The EU had threatened to exhaust duration in-between powers to shut down the feature whereas it investigated concerns that it changed into once encouraging other folks to exhaust excessive amounts of time on the app.
Briefing journalists on background, a senior Commission legitimate mentioned the enforcer is chuffed with the discontinue consequence because it has delivered a short consequence that lets in EU residents, in conjunction with minors, to be stable.
The settlement does imply the EC has not formally found TikTok to be in breach of the DSA, so there’s no penalty. Nonetheless, if TikTok fails to preserve to its commitments, the Commission emphasised that the firm could well perchance moreover fair be sanctioned immediately under the DSA, which permits for fines of as a lot as 6% of world annual turnover without the necessity for a contemporary investigation. So TikTok has a pretty mountainous compliance incentive here.
The Commission mentioned it will per chance perchance show screen TikTok’s compliance to its commitments the utilization of existing processes and DSA powers, in conjunction with with the support of Member Squawk-stage authorities that oversee compliance with the laws’s identical outdated principles.
Commenting in an announcement, Thierry Breton, the EU’s inside market commissioner, mentioned: “The readily available within the market brain time of young Europeans shouldn’t be a forex for social media — and it never will be. We have obtained the eternal withdrawal of TikTok Lite Rewards programme, which could well perchance moreover have had very addictive penalties. The DSA is in paunchy swing.”
TikTok spokesperson Elliott Burton sent TechCrunch an announcement about the settlement: “We continually watch to have interaction constructively with the European Commission and other regulators. TikTok is chuffed to have reached an amicable resolution and has now withdrawn the TikTok Lite rewards programme which changed into once launched in France and Spain in April, which we had already voluntarily suspended.”
Whereas this TikTok DSA case is now closed, one other, extra wide-ranging investigation announced again in February is composed ongoing.
That case concerns the foremost TikTok app’s algorithm, amongst other areas. The Commission has mentioned it’s stricken the obtain of the monitoring-based fully recommender engine could well perchance moreover fair lead to “rabbit hole effects,” where users who watch one video on a topic could well perchance moreover moreover be in fact useful extra excessive videos that could well perchance moreover lead to an amplification of corrupt thunder, equivalent to videos selling eating disorders.
The EU is also enthusiastic TikTok shouldn’t be the utilization of necessary ample age-assurance measures to provide protection to young other folks from getting access to unsuitable thunder. TikTok’s compliance with DSA transparency necessities are also being investigated.
For added on how the DSA and its sister laws, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), are impacting Giant Tech platforms, take a look at out our earlier reporting.
