TikTok Lite has voluntarily suspended its “Reward to Watch” feature. The tweaked version of TikTok could be highly addictive, especially for children, feared several EU regulators.
TikTok pulls the “Reward to Watch” feature due to EU pressure
TikTok’s owner ByteDance, has reportedly pulled TikTok Lite’s “Reward to Watch” feature. The company Tweeted it seeks to constructively engage with the EU Commission, and assured it would address any concerns in the future.
Statement on TikTok Lite: “TikTok always seeks to engage constructively with the EU Commission and other regulators. We are therefore voluntarily suspending the rewards functions in TikTok Lite while we address the concerns that they have raised.”
— TikTok Policy Europe (@TikTokPolicyEUR) April 24, 2024
The EU is concerned about TikTok Lite, which is supposed to be a smaller or lighter version of the app. ByteDance claims it has positioned TikTok Lite as a memory-optimized version of TikTok. It not only has a smaller memory footprint but also claims to work on a poor internet connection.
Incidentally, the EU (European Union) had opened a second “formal investigation” into TikTok this week. Regulators had essentially accused ByteDance of violating the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). The company seems to have taken a preemptive and precautionary step by suspending the Reward to Watch feature within TikTok Lite.
ByteDance launched TikTok Lite in France and Spain earlier this month. One of the biggest highlights of the app was the Reward to Watch feature. As the name implies, this feature allows users to earn points by watching and liking videos.
TikTok Lite users can exchange these points for Amazon vouchers. They can even get TikTok’s virtual currency to tip TikTok content creators.
Such features are “toxic” and “addictive,” Tweeted Europe’s digital commissioner.
Our children are not guinea pigs for social media.
I take note of TikTok’s decision to suspend the #TikTokLite “Reward Program” in the EU.
The cases against TikTok on the risk of addictiveness of the platform continue.#DSA ensures the safety of our 🇪🇺 online space. https://t.co/J1oI6zNI97
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) April 24, 2024
TikTok’s troubles may get worse
Companies like TikTok, Meta, and other online social media giants, have been increasingly facing heat from regulators around the world. The EU is already investigating multiple companies for allegedly mishandling the privacy and safety of minors.
EU warns suspension of TikTok rewards app, Lite, over risks to kids #TechnologyCanada #CDNNews #Technology #Canada #CanadaNews [Video] The European Union on Monday demanded TikTok provide more information about a new app that pays users to watch videos… https://t.co/IqgKF3Df7l
— Melina Handler (@HandlerCND) April 23, 2024
ByteDance may have lost America this week as the US President signed a bill to essentially Ban TikTok. Although not a death knell, TikTok’s parent company has a year to divest its ownership in TiKTok. If it fails to comply, the TikTok app will be banned in the country.
TikTok currently remains banned in India. Moreover, multiple governments, and especially their armed forces, have officially banned TikTok on government employees’ devices.
It seems ByteDance didn’t want to rock the boat too much. Hence, it quickly suspended the Reward to Watch feature in TikTok Lite.