While the US government signed a bill to ban TikTok in the country, the company is facing challenges in other parts of the world as well.
The EU officials recently launched an investigation into TikTok’s new feature that allows users in some regions to get paid based on how much they use the app.
In response to that investigation, TikTok has decided to shut down its TikTok Lite Rewards program. They could also attract hefty fines in violation of the EU Digital Services Act.
Reuters reported that “TikTok will voluntarily suspend its new app TikTok Lite’s reward program while it tries to resolve EU concerns, the company said on X social media platform on Wednesday.”
The rewards hub rewards allowed users aged 18 or over to earn points by watching videos and performing other activities on the app. These points could be redeemed for gift cards, vouchers, and other perks.
The EU authorities claimed that this program could promote addictive behavior in young audiences by incentivizing them to use the app more often. The officials gave the EU a 24-hour notice to provide a risk assessment report that the program was safe to use. In failure to do so, they threatened to seek an emergency ban.
For this TikTok could attract fines, with EU officials able to punish them for up to 6% of the company’s global revenue for violations.
However, it seems unlikely that the company will attract such a hefty fine for this kind of violation. But, we cannot say for certain as EU officials may be looking to make an example of the case, as a reminder of the new Digital Services Act regulations.
