TikTok suspends new app’s rewards program amid EU concerns

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -TikTok will voluntarily suspend the rewards program for its new app TikTok Lite as it tries to address EU concerns, the company said on social media platform X on Wednesday.

The European Commission is using the rules in its Digital Services Act (DSA) to force big online companies to do more to combat illegal and harmful content on their platforms, with TikTok being targeted for its impact on children.

The EU executive gave the ByteDance-owned company until today to resolve its concerns about the potentially addictive nature of the child rewards program or face a temporary suspension of the feature.

“TikTok always seeks to engage constructively with the EU Commission and other regulators. Therefore, we are voluntarily suspending the reward functions in TikTok Lite while we address the concerns they have raised,” the company said on X.

EU industry chief Thierry Breton, who opened two investigations into TikTok, took note of the suspension.

“Our cases against TikTok over the platform’s risk of addiction continue, including the investigation to establish whether the launch of TikTok Lite was in compliance with the DSA,” he said in a statement.

“Our children are not social media guinea pigs.”

TikTok Lite’s rewards program allows users to earn points by completing certain tasks on the platform, such as watching videos, liking content, following creators or inviting friends to join.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)