After more than three months, the European Union (EU) Commission has closed its Digital Services Act (DSA) investigation into TikTok Lite’s controversial Rewards feature.
The feature was launched in regions like France and Spain in April 2024. It allowed users to earn ‘points’ from interacting with videos via likes or comments. Then, users could convert these points into gift cards, vouchers, or money.
The Commission argued that TikTok didn’t submit a proper risk assessment for the TikTok Lite rewards feature before its launch. The Commission explained in a press release that they were concerned about the feature’s potentially addictive qualities. Particularly, for young people.
In an X post announcing the news, the EU’s Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, wrote, “The available brain time of young Europeans is not a currency for social media — and it never will be.”
What does this mean for TikTok Lite?
As part of the settlement, TikTok made two commitments. One was to withdraw the TikTok Lite Rewards program from the EU. The other was not to launch anything that could be considered an alternative or a replacement.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that this commitment doesn’t necessarily apply to TikTok as a whole globally, but only to TikTok’s operations in the EU.
In an emailed statement to TechCrunch, TikTok spokesperson Elliot Burton said: “We always seek to engage constructively with the European Commission and other regulators.”
“TikTok is pleased to have reached an amicable resolution and has now withdrawn the TikTok Lite rewards program which was launched in France and Spain in April, which we had already voluntarily suspended,” Burton said.
