On Wednesday 17 April, the Commission announced that it had sent a request for further information to TikTok to obtain more details on the risk assessment that the platform should have carried out before rolling out its new ‘TikTok Lite’ application in the EU.
This request comes in the context of the investigation opened by the Commission last February against the Chinese social network (see EUROPE 13353/16).
This additional information concerns the new rewards programme introduced by ‘TikTok Lite’ and its potential impact on the mental health of users, particularly minors.
TikTok recently launched ‘TikTok Lite’ in the EU, a new application with a ‘rewards programme’ for users aged 18 and over. This allows users to earn points by performing certain ‘tasks’ on TikTok: watching videos, liking content, following creators, inviting friends to join the application, etc. Users can then exchange these points for Amazon vouchers or gift cards via PayPal. The Commission is particularly concerned about the addictive nature of such rewards.
TikTok must provide the risk assessment for ‘TikTok Lite’ within 24 hours of the Commission’s announcement, and has until 26 April to provide the rest of the information requested. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)