TikTok withdraws 'addictive' rewards programme from EU

TikTok is permanently withdrawing a feature that financially rewarded screen time for TikTok Lite users in the European Union, a senior EU official said on Monday.

TikTok's Lite app, which was launched in France and Spain this spring, included a rewards programme that allowed users to earn points by watching videos, liking content, following active users or inviting friends. The points could be exchanged for Amazon vouchers or gift cards via PayPal.

The European Commission criticised the feature, which it believed could "generate addiction", and threatened to take the app offline. It accused ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, of failing to carry out a prior risk assessment, in particular on the impact on users' mental health. 

"The available brain time of young Europeans is not a currency for social media"

After temporarily suspending the programme in April, Tiktok is now permanently withdrawing it from the EU, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton announced on Monday. No other reward programme will replace it. 

As a result, the Commission is closing its investigation into the company. "The available brain time of young Europeans is not a currency for social media - and it never will be," Breton said on X.

The Commission has been using new European legislation to crack down on big tech companies for more than a year. Its Digital Services Act aims to protect consumers from the omnipotence of the often US-based tech giants. 

^{© PHOTO NHAC NGUYEN / AFP}