Under pressure from the EU:

TikTok suspends controversial “reward system”

Online services such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook are obliged to protect minors under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA).(Bild: Rafael Henrique – stock.adobe.com)

Bytedance gives in: Under pressure from the European Commission due to suspected addiction risks for minors, the video platform TikTok has suspended a controversial "reward system" in Europe.

"We have achieved the definitive suspension of the TikTok Lite rewards program," said EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton on Monday in the short message service X. TikTok had already suspended the function for the time being, and it now remains so.

The company launched the new app "TikTok Lite" in April, and it was available in France and Spain in Europe. The version included a points system: anyone who registers, watches several hours of videos or invites friends to TikTok is rewarded with digital coins. The points can be exchanged for small amounts in the form of vouchers, for example for the online retailer Amazon.

The EU Commission raised concerns in April due to the "risk of serious harm to the mental health of users" and demanded that TikTok take measures to protect minors in particular. TikTok declared that it would address the concerns and suspend the function in the meantime.

Function abolished, concerns allayed
According to the Commission, the company has now actually been able to dispel the concerns - by abolishing the function in the EU and also committing to "not launching any other programs that would circumvent the waiver". The proceedings initiated against TikTok in April will therefore be discontinued.

In February, Brussels had already initiated proceedings for possible addiction risks for minors due to the design of TikTok's standard platform. These proceedings are still ongoing.

Online services such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook are obliged under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) to better protect minors and delete content such as depictions of violence or false information more quickly.