European Commission may suspend Tik Tok Lite reward programme

The European Commission could suspend the TikTok Lite rewards programme, which pays users to spend time on the app.

Commissioner Thierry Breton said the feature was “toxic and addictive”, particularly when used by children.

TikTok had until Wednesday to defend the rewards programme, or it could be suspended as early as Thursday April, 25, 2024. However the company told the BBC it was disappointed with the decision.

“We stand ready to trigger… interim measures including the suspension of the TikTok Lite reward programme,” said European Commissioner Thierry Breton in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

In addition, the Commission had opened formal proceedings against the social media company to assess whether it had broken EU law.

Under EU law, which came into force last year, large platforms like TikTok had to produce a risk assessment before they make large changes to their products.

The Commission asked for TikTok’s risk assessment into the Task and Rewards programme last week, but says the social media company failed to submit it in time.

It said that the system risks “serious damage for the mental health of users”.

TikTok launched its “Task and Rewards” programme last week in France and Spain.

It is a new feature on TikTok Lite, a slimmed-down version of the main social media app, which uses less data and space on users’ phones.

Under the programme, users can earn the equivalent of a few pence per day for watching videos and engaging on the app.

The Commission isbinvestigating whether this could have negative effects on the mental health of users, including children, “especially as a result of the new feature stimulating addictive behaviour”.

TikTok said rewards were only open to people over the age of 18, and tools were in place to verify their ages. The Commission m, however, suspects a “lack of effective age verification mechanisms”.

This was the second formal investigation into TikTok launched in the EU.

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