The European Commission announced on Monday that the TikTok social network, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has agreed to permanently withdraw its TikTok Lite rewards program from the European Union in order to comply with the provisions of the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The “Rewards Program” allows users to earn points. PHOTO Shutterstock
The EU asked TikTok in April for an immediate risk assessment of the app, shortly after it was launched in France and Spain, due to concerns about a potential impact on the mental health of children and users, according to Reuters, cited by Agerpres .
This is the “Rewards Program” which allows users to earn points by performing actions on the platform such as watching videos, liking content or inviting friends to join the platform
Large online platforms must report potential risks of new functionalities to the European Union before their launch and must adopt effective measures to address these risks, according to DSA requirements.
What commitments has TikTok made?
TikTok has made legally binding commitments to withdraw the rewards program from the European Union and not to launch any other program that evades this decision, the Executive Branch of the European Union announced.
“Any breach of commitments will immediately result in a breach of the DSA and as such may attract fines”stated the European Commission.
Another investigation into TikTok’s possible breach of online content rules aimed at protecting children and ensuring advertising transparency, the European Commission added, is still ongoing.
The investigation was opened in February, and the platform risks a substantial fine.
