Image: © olezzo/Stock.adobe.com
With no effective age verification system in place, the Commission thinks TikTok risks serious harm to kids’ mental health with its new Task and Rewards feature.
The EU has threatened the TikTok Lite app with a ban under the Digital Services Act (DSA) following concerns that its so-called ‘task and reward’ feature could cause serious damage to mental health, particularly in children.
As a designated ‘very large platform’ (those that have more than 45m active users in the EU) TikTok is subject to certain rules under the DSA, such as submitting risk assessment reports before launching any features that may pose systemic risks to European users.
Launched in Spain and France last month, the TikTok Lite app has a feature called Task and Reward which incentivises users to perform certain tasks – such as watching videos, liking content, following specific creators and inviting other friends to TikTok – in exchange for points.
These points can then be redeemed for rewards such as Amazon vouchers, gift cards or TikTok’s own coin currency to tip creators.
The European Commission, which opened the proceedings yesterday (22 April), said that it is concerned such programmes may encourage addictive behaviours in users of the app. Those below the age of 18 are particularly vulnerable to such risks, the EU said.
🚨We suspect #TikTokLite feature to be toxic & addictive, in particular for children.
Unless TikTok provides compelling proof of safety —which it failed to do until now—we stand ready to trigger #DSA interim measures including the #suspension of the TikTokLite "reward programme" pic.twitter.com/71neLMrkYy
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) April 22, 2024
Even though the Task and Reward functionality is open to users over the age of 18, the Commission believes TikTok does not have effective age verification systems in place – something that is already under investigation in proceedings launched two months ago.
Internal market commissioner Thierry Breton said that “endless streams” of short and fast-paced videos such as the ones viewed on TikTok Lite, while fun, can expose children to a range of risks, from addiction and low attention spans to anxiety and depression.
“With our first DSA non-compliance case against TikTok still ongoing, the company has launched TikTok Lite which financially rewards extra screen time. We suspect TikTok ‘Lite’ could be as toxic and addictive as cigarettes ‘light’,” he said.
“Unless TikTok provides compelling proof of its safety, which it has failed to do until now, we stand ready to trigger DSA interim measures including the suspension of [the] TikTok Lite feature which we suspect could generate addiction. We will spare no effort to protect our children.”
As a result, the Commission has told TikTok it intends to suspend the TikTok Lite rewards programme in the EU “pending the assessment of its safety”. TikTok has until tomorrow to present its defence.
Find out how emerging tech trends are transforming tomorrow with our new podcast, Future Human: The Series. Listen now on Spotify, on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
