TikTok agrees to withdraw rewards feature after EU raised concerns

TikTok has agreed to withdraw a rewards feature that raised concerns about its potential to encourage excessive screen time, particularly among children, the European Union’s executive commission said Monday.

 

It was the first resolution of an investigation under the 27-country EU’s sweeping Digital Services Act, which went into effect in February and aims to ensure a “safe and accountable online environment” by regulating large digital platforms.

 

TikTok made the commitment without conceding the feature violated the Digital Services Act, officials said.

 

The commission has however ruled that the withdrawal is legally binding, which “sends a clear message to the entire social media industry,” said Margrethe Vestager, European commission for digital affairs.

 

The commission opened an investigation in April due to concerns that TikTok has not done a diligent assessment required under the act of the feature’s potential “addictive effect,” especially for children, “given suspected absence of effective age verification mechanisms on TikTok.” The resolution of the TikTok Lite investigation does not affect an earlier probe launched against TikTok focusing on concerns about protection of minors, advertising transparency, data access for researchers, and mitigating risks of “behavioral addiction” and harmful content.

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