TikTok Removes Lite App Feature in EU Amid Addiction Worries

EU Intervention Prompts TikTok to Suspend Gamification Feature

In a move that went largely unnoticed amidst the growing pile of TikTok’s US legal troubles, the popular social media platform suspended a gamification feature in the European Union following an intervention by the bloc late Wednesday local time.

EU Investigation into TikTok Lite’s “Task and Reward” Mechanism

The EU’s action came just two days after it launched an investigation into a “task and reward” system on the TikTok Lite app, citing worries about an addictive design that could jeopardize young people’s mental health. Users can earn points for actions like watching and liking TikTok videos through this feature. ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, introduced this version of TikTok Lite in France and Spain earlier this month.

TikTok’s Legal Obligations Under the Digital Services Act (DSA)

Under the EU’s revamped online governance and content moderation rulebook, the Digital Services Act (DSA), TikTok is legally obligated to mitigate systemic risks in areas such as child safety and mental health. However, when the bloc’s enforcers came calling, the company failed to provide a risk assessment report on the feature.

This is significant because if TikTok is found to have violated EU rules, it could face hefty fines under the DSA, up to 6% of its global annual turnover.

TikTok’s “Voluntary” Suspension of the Rewards Feature

In a statement posted on X yesterday, TikTok claimed it is “voluntarily suspending” the rewards feature in the region to address concerns. However, the Commission had indicated on Monday that it was preparing to use interim measures powers under the DSA to shut down the app while it investigates the feature.

TikTok was given two days by the EU to provide arguments against a forced shutdown. Instead, TikTok chose to preempt enforcement by announcing a “voluntary” suspension.

The Power of Interim Enforcement Threats

This development highlights how even the threat of interim enforcement can be powerful enough to compel platform giants to reconsider their actions. We’ve seen similar instances before, such as when Google decided to halt human review of audio snippets captured by its voice AI in 2019 after a data protection authority informed the company of its intention to use an urgency proceeding to order it to stop processing the data.

This common crisis PR strategy aims to get ahead of the negative publicity associated with a forced shutdown by taking action before a formal order is issued.

EU’s Response to TikTok’s Announcement

Despite this, the EU is claiming victory. In response to TikTok’s announcement, the bloc’s internal-market-commissioner-cum-internet-sheriff, Thierry Breton, warned in a counter post on X:

Our children are not guinea pigs for social media.

Breton continued, stating that he “takes note” of TikTok’s decision to suspend the reward program for the Lite app in the EU, adding:

The cases against TikTok on the risk of addictiveness of the platform continue.

Ongoing DSA Probes on TikTok and X

The EU currently has two DSA probes open on TikTok: one announced in February, which is examining a wide range of suspected non-compliance in areas such as addictive design, child protection, ads transparency, and data access for researchers; and another, announced earlier this week, focusing specifically on TikTok Lite.

It’s worth noting that Elon Musk-owned X was the first very large online platform to come under DSA investigation back in December, just a few months after the late August compliance deadline had taken effect. That investigation is also ongoing.