Amid worries over kid safety, the European Union has opened an investigation into the TikTok offshoot app Lite and threatened to remove an “addictive” feature that rewards users for viewing and liking videos.
European Commissioner Thierry Breton in a post on X, formerly Twitter, threatened that the commission is eager and ready to ban the social media company.
With the launch of TikTok Lite in France and Spain in March, users who are 18 years of age or older can accrue points that can be redeemed for products such as gift cards or vouchers via the app’s rewards system.
Newsng understands that to determine if the social media business has violated EU law, the Commission has initiated official proceedings against it.
A scaled-down version of TikTok software, TikTok Lite is designed to function with slower internet connections and requires less memory on smartphones.
According to the commission, TikTok missed the deadline of April 18 to submit a risk assessment for the spinoff app. As a result, the company is now required to give the study by Tuesday.
It has threatened to implement temporary measures, such as stopping the EU incentives system “pending the assessment of its safety.”
China’s ByteDance owns TikTok, which has until Wednesday to file a formal defence against the proposed action.
“We suspect TikTok ‘Lite’ could be as toxic and addictive as cigarettes ‘light’,” said Breton.
“Unless TikTok provides compelling proof of its safety, which it has failed to do until now, we stand ready to trigger DSA interim measures including the suspension of TikTok Lite features,” he added.
We earlier reported the proposed bill passed by the US House of Representatives to compel TikTok‘s parent to either sell the app or face a ban.
