TikTok to permanently withdraw its rewards program from the EU after it was denounced by the European Commission

A victory for Brussels. The social network TikTok has committed to permanently withdrawing from the European Union the function of its new TikTok Lite application that rewards users for time spent in front of screens, the European Commission announced on Monday 5 August. The European executive had opened an investigation in April aimed at the social networkto determine whether the Chinese platform has failed to meet its obligations imposed by the digital services regulation (DSA).

“We have obtained the definitive withdrawal of the #TikTokLite rewards program which could have had very addictive consequences”welcomed the European Commissioner for Digital Affairs, Thierry Breton on X. “The available brain time of young Europeans is not a bargaining chip for social networks”he added.

In a press release, the French audiovisual regulator Arcom “welcomes the implementation of the Digital Services Regulation with regard to the protection of minors online”. The audiovisual regulator denounces a “functionality that induced an increased risk of dependency, particularly for minors”.