Chinese-owned video-sharing platform TikTok has decided to voluntarily suspend its rewards scheme for the new TikTok Lite app, amidst an ongoing legal investigation by the European Commission.
The commission, which had previously indicated on Monday its potential order for TikTok to halt the rewards feature, stipulated a 48-hour window for the company to demonstrate that it posed no risk of serious harm.
Additionally, TikTok was required to prove compliance with risk assessment and mitigation regulations outlined in the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
However, in a statement posted on X on Wednesday, TikTok expressed its commitment to engaging constructively with the EU Commission and other regulatory bodies, hence the voluntary suspension of the rewards functions in TikTok Lite while addressing raised concerns.
“TikTok always seeks to engage constructively with the EU Commission and other regulators. We are therefore voluntarily suspending the rewards functions in TikTok Lite while we address the concerns that they have raised,” the post said.
The investigation revolves around TikTok Lite’s mechanism allowing users to accumulate points by viewing videos and redeeming them for various rewards, such as Amazon vouchers.
The commission expressed apprehension regarding the scheme’s launch without prior diligent risk assessment, particularly concerning its potential addictive effects.
TikTok Lite, akin to its widely popular counterpart, TikTok, but designed to consume less memory and bandwidth, made its European debut in Spain and France earlier this month.
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