TikTok permanently ends TikTok Lite Rewards programme in EU for DSA Compliance
On 5 August 2024, the European Commission legally enforced TikTok's commitments to permanently withdraw its TikTok Lite Rewards program from the EU. This decision follows concerns raised by the European Commission regarding the programme's compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA) in the formal proceedings initiated on 22 April 2024.
Background
TikTok Lite, a new version of the TikTok app launched in Spain and France in April 2024, included a rewards programme allowing users to earn points by engaging with content. The European Commission raised concerns about the potential for addictive behaviour and its impact on users, particularly minors, due to the programme's lack of a prior risk assessment, as required by the DSA. Following these concerns, TikTok voluntarily suspended the programme in the EU in late April.
TikTok’s commitments
TikTok has now agreed to the following commitments:
- Permanently withdraw the TikTok Lite Rewards programme from the EU; and
- Refrain from launching any similar programme that could bypass this commitment.
These commitments are now legally binding under the DSA and any violation could result in fines. As a result, the European Commission has closed its formal proceedings against TikTok initiated in April, marking this as the first case closure under the DSA.
Next steps
The European Commission will closely monitor TikTok's adherence to these commitments and other obligations under the DSA. However, other investigations against TikTok, including the first formal proceedings which were launched on 19 February 2024, remain ongoing.
In addition to TikTok, other ongoing DSA proceedings involve platforms such as X, AliExpress, and Meta.
The official press release can be found here.
