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TikTok to remove Lite app rewards programme targeted in landmark European Union DSA case
- EU market regulators had raised concerns about the potentially addictive nature of the feature for children
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Finbarr Berminghamin Brussels
In a landmark case in Europe, video platform TikTok has agreed to permanently remove a controversial feature that regulators say could be addictive and damage the mental health of young people.
In the first case to be closed under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), the Chinese-owned company said it would indefinitely suspend the rewards programme on its “TikTok Lite” app, a less data intensive version of its main product that was launched in France and Spain earlier this year.
TikTok has also agreed not to relaunch the same rewards programme under another guise.
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At the same time, it has not admitted any infringement, nor will it face a fine, under what is being described as a “commitment” settlement under the DSA.
“The available brain time of young Europeans is not a currency for social media – and it never will be,” Thierry Breton, the European Union’s internal market boss, said, announcing the agreement on Monday.
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“We have obtained the permanent withdrawal of the TikTok Lite rewards programme, which could have had very addictive consequences. The DSA is in full swing.”
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