A European Fee spokesman confirmed on Tuesday that it had obtained a reply from TikTok to an order to offer inside 24 hours an evaluation of psychological well being dangers associated to its new app, TikTok Lite.
Monday’s legally binding order issues the brand new app’s rewards scheme, which permits customers to gather factors by watching movies and trade them for issues of worth, comparable to Amazon vouchers, based on fee officers.
The fee desires to understand how the Chinese language-owned video-sharing platform assessed the addictiveness and psychological well being dangers of the scheme, notably for kids, earlier than launch. The EU’s Digital Companies Act (DSA) requires massive platforms to evaluate and mitigate such dangers.
“We will verify that we obtained a reply from TikTok,” a fee spokesman mentioned. He mentioned the EU government will now “assess the response and resolve on potential subsequent steps”.
If the fee decides that TikTok has not offered the knowledge it requested for, it might advantageous the corporate 1 per cent of its international annual income, plus periodic fines of 5 per cent of its day by day income.
The fee initially requested the knowledge on April 17, with a non-binding deadline the next day.
Fee officers mentioned TikTok responded to that request by telling them it had carried out a danger evaluation, however that it couldn’t share the doc. The fee then adopted up with a binding order on Monday.
A TikTok spokeswoman mentioned that this was as a result of the corporate had requested the fee for extra time. In a press release, the corporate mentioned TikTok Lite’s rewards scheme just isn’t obtainable to minors, and has a day by day restrict on the variety of movies that may be watched for a reward.
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“We’re dissatisfied with this choice – the TikTok Lite rewards hub just isn’t obtainable to below 18s, and there’s a day by day restrict on video watch duties. We are going to proceed discussions with the fee,” the assertion mentioned.
TikTok Lite had its European launch in France and Spain this month.
On Monday, the fee additionally gave TikTok 48 hours to indicate that it has complied with the DSA and that there is no such thing as a danger of significant hurt from the rewards options, after which the EU government might order the platform to droop the characteristic permitting factors to be exchanged, pending additional investigation.
A fee press launch on Monday mentioned the EU government “is worried that the ‘Job and Reward Programme’ of TikTok Lite, which permits customers to earn factors whereas performing sure ‘duties’ on TikTok – comparable to watching movies, liking content material, following creators, inviting buddies to affix TikTok, and so on – has been launched with out prior diligent evaluation of the dangers it entails, particularly these associated to the addictive impact of the platforms, and with out taking efficient danger mitigating measures”.
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If the fee finally concludes that TikTok has fallen wanting its risk-assessment and risk-mitigation obligations below the DSA, it might advantageous the corporate 6 per cent of its international annual income.
The DSA’s risk-mitigation guidelines for Very Giant On-line Platforms (VLOPs) – these with greater than 45 million month-to-month lively customers within the European Union – got here into pressure in August 2023.
Presently-listed VLOPs embrace TikTok, X – previously referred to as Twitter – and Meta’s Fb and Instagram platforms.
