(CNN Spanish) — TikTok said Wednesday that it would suspend TikTok Lite in the European Union. What is it about and why does it generate controversy among regulators?
TikTok Lite is a version of the main TikTok app that requires less data and contains a feature that rewards users with cash for interacting with the content and features of the TikTok app.
TikTok said it was “voluntarily” suspending the rewards program after the European Commission announced Monday that it could impose fines and a mandatory suspension over concerns that the feature could be addictive by encouraging users to interact more with the platform.
“TikTok always seeks to engage constructively with the EU Commission and other regulators,” the company said in a post on “.
What regulators warn
The EU’s warnings to TikTok reflect an exercise of new supervisory powers granted by the Digital Services Act, recently enacted by the trade bloc that governs online platforms.
European officials are threatening TikTok with massive fines and a possible forced suspension this week of parts of a new spin-off app, launched this month, that regulators say contains addictive features.
The warnings target TikTok Lite, a version of the main TikTok app that consumes less data and contains a feature that rewards users with cash for interacting with the TikTok app’s content and features.
EU officials fear the feature could be used to turn TikTok Lite users into addicts who cannot stop using the app and described it as an “experiment” with involuntary EU citizens in Spain and France, where TikTok Lite was available.
Monday’s announcement from the European Union marks the trading bloc’s second major investigation into TikTok and focuses specifically on TikTok Lite and what officials said were risks of serious harm to users’ mental health.
The move came days after the US House of Representatives passed legislation that could ultimately ban TikTok in the US on national security grounds.
The latest EU investigation represents the first time that Commission officials have exercised their power using certain new tools given to them by Europe’s sweeping new law regulating online platforms, the Digital Services Act (DSA). .
“This is a demonstration of the fact that when we say that the protection of minors is a priority under the DSA, we really mean it,” a European Commission official told reporters on Monday.
“We are disappointed with this decision,” a TikTok spokesperson said in response to the EU warnings. “The TikTok Lite rewards center is not available to those under 18 years of age and there is a daily limit on video viewing tasks. “We will continue discussions with the Commission.”
Additionally, TikTok could be fined for failing to provide the Commission with the information it owes about TikTok Lite, including a risk assessment report and a separate report outlining the measures the company has taken to minimize those risks. EU officials first sent their request for information last week. It is separate from another ongoing DSA investigation into TikTok, launched in February, into the company’s approach to harm to users generally.
Failure to deliver the TikTok Lite risk assessment by Tuesday and the risk mitigation report by May 3 could result in fines of up to 1% of TikTok’s global annual revenue and “periodic penalties” of up to 5% of TikTok’s average daily revenue. said the Commission.
TikTok could face additional fines of up to 6% of its global annual revenue if the TikTok Lite features that the Commission is investigating are found to constitute violations of the DSA.
Commission officials repeatedly declined to say whether TikTok had offered an explanation for why it did not submit the requested information.
This report was made with information from Brian Fung of CNN
