ByteDance cancels TikTok Lite Rewards program from EU

TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is permanently pulling the plug on the TikTok Lite Rewards program from the EU.

TikTok Lite is a separate version of the TikTok app we all know. Simply put, TikTok Lite is a data-light version of the app that’s designed for areas with slower internet speeds, like India, Brazil, and Indonesia.

TikTok Lite was first launched in Thailand back in 2018. Last April, the app made its way to Spain and France.

As soon as the app appeared in the EU, the European Commission raised concerns about TikTok Lite’s Rewards program. By watching and liking videos, following content creators on TikTok, and referring the app to friends, users over the age of 18 can earn points. In return, users can trade these points for coupons, like Amazon vouchers or TikTok coins.

The European Commission was worried that the TikTok Lite Rewards program had been launched without a proper impact assessment. The Commission stipulated concerns for users’ physical and mental health, and potential addictive behavior. Especially for minors, who generally are more perceptive for such features. That would be a violation of the Digital Service Act (DSA), whose goal is to protect European consumers from the dominance of so-called Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs).

“The safety and well-being of online users in Europe is crucial. TikTok needs to take a close look at the services they offer and carefully consider the risks that they pose to their users, young as well as old. The Commission will now carry out an in-depth investigation without prejudice to the outcome,” Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age, said in a statement back in February.

On April 24, TikTok decided to voluntarily suspend the TikTok Lite Rewards program from the EU. Monday the video sharing platform promised to permanently cancel its Rewards program, and not to launch any other rewards program that would circumvent the withdrawal.

“The safety and well-being of social media users need to be a number one priority. Design features on platforms with addictive effects put the well-being of their users at risk. That’s why we have made TikTok’s commitments under the DSA legally binding. We will carefully monitor TikTok’s compliance. Today’s decision also sends a clear message to the entire social media industry,” Vestager states in a press release.

This doesn’t mean ByteDance is off the hook. The formal proceedings against TikTok will remain open and the investigation continues.