Under the Watchful Eye of the EU, TikTok Lite Deletes the Rewards Feature “addictive Like Cigarettes”.

The EU has effectively scrapped a TikTok feature that Europe’s digital commissioner described as “toxic” and “addictive like cigarettes.” Owner ByteDance said Wednesday that TikTok Lite’s reward-to-watch feature would be suspended. It was a brutal day for TikTok as President Biden signed a bill (also on Wednesday) that will force ByteDance to sell the platform’s US operations or face a ban.

TikTok Lite, which launched in France and Spain earlier this month, allows users to earn rewards by watching and liking videos. They can then exchange their points for real-world perks like Amazon vouchers or in-app vouchers like TikTok’s virtual currency, which is used to tip creators. The EU Commission said the task and reward feature could stimulate “addictive behavior” in children.

“Our children are not guinea pigs for social media,” said EU Commissioner Thierry Breton Posted on X (Twitter) on Wednesday. “I note TikTok’s decision to suspend the #TikTokLite ‘rewards program’ in the EU.”

However, he added a parting shot to remind ByteDance that it’s not out of the woods yet: “The cases against TikTok over the platform’s addictive nature continue.”

Breton fired a warning shot at ByteDance earlier this week, saying the EU had opened a formal investigation into TikTok for violating the Digital Services Act (DSA). The groundbreaking law, passed in 2022, gives European regulators the power to enforce significant changes on social media platforms to protect consumers.

Companies that break the rules can risk fines of up to six percent of their global sales – enough to force even the wealthiest companies to comply. Wednesday’s suspension is the first concrete example of the EU using the DSA’s enforcement powers to force significant changes on a social platform.

The EU’s formal investigation into TikTok Lite was the second targeting the platform this year. A previous case, launched in February, opened proceedings against TikTok and Meta over their handling of the privacy and safety of minors. The guard notes that both cases remain active.

“TikTok is always committed to working constructively with the EU Commission and other regulators,” the platform’s Policy Europe X account says Posted On Wednesday. “We are therefore voluntarily suspending the rewards features in TikTok Lite while we address the concerns they have raised.”