TikTok stops rewarding users after fierce European criticism: “Our children are not guinea pigs”

TikTok is taking the rewards program for users of its app TikTok Lite offline. The Chinese social media company announced this after fierce criticism from the European Commission. “Our children are not guinea pigs for social media,” said Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton.

TikTok Lite launched in France and Spain earlier this month. It targets users aged 18 and older and includes 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 vouchers from Amazon and gift vouchers via Paypal, for example.

The European Commission threatened to take TikTok Lite offline this week because ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, had not submitted a prior risk analysis, particularly regarding the impact on users’ mental health. The Commission fears that the program may encourage addictive behavior and gave TikTok until Tuesday to submit a risk assessment and until Wednesday to defend its case.

“Voluntary” decision

But before the Commission can make a decision, TikTok has now announced it is “voluntarily” suspending the TikTok Lite rewards program, “while we address concerns raised by the European Commission and other regulators.” The Commission was particularly concerned about the impact of the new app on potentially underage users.

European Commissioner Thierry Breton has already responded to TikTok’s announcement. “Our children are not guinea pigs for social media,” he wrote on X. “I take note of TikTok’s decision. The cases against TikTok regarding the risk of addiction to the platform are continuing.”