Earlier this week, Brussels issued an ultimatum to the social media company about the potentially addictive effects of TikTok Lite, which was only released in France and Spain in the EU. The commission also threatened a fine and a possible ban on the app’s rewards program.
On Tuesday, TikTok therefore released a document about the risks for minors when using TikTok Lite. According to the company, this was within the deadline set by Brussels. The company had until Wednesday to defend itself about the rewards program. In the coming period, the company wants to make an effort to address Brussels’ concerns.
TikTok Lite’s rewards program allowed users to earn points as they completed assignments. That could be addictive, the European Commission feared in a provisional conclusion. Responsible European Commissioner Thierry Breton has taken note of the suspension by ByteDance. He immediately said that the investigation into TikTok Lite will continue. “Our children are not guinea pigs for social media,” he also added.
TikTok is also under heavy fire in the United States. President Joe Biden signed a law into law on Wednesday leading to a possible ban of the popular app in the country. TikTok has already announced that it will challenge that law in an American court.
The law states, among other things, that ByteDance must sell its American parts. If ByteDance doesn’t do this, TikTok could be banned in the US. The law is intended to prevent China from using the social media app for propaganda and from abusing data from American users.
Tags: TikTok Lite reward function temporarily disabled concerns Brussels
