The European Commission has launched a new investigation against TikTok to assess whether the launch of its new application, TikTok Lite, in Spain and France may have violated the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA requires large platforms to provide a risk assessment report and implement measures to mitigate any systemic risk before launching a new product. TikTok has been given deadlines to provide the necessary reports and information, but concerns have been raised about their failure to adequately evaluate the risks of addictive behavior among minors.
TikTok Lite offers a rewards program that incentivizes users with points for certain actions on the app, which could lead to addictive behavior among children. While TikTok claims to target adult users with this program, there are concerns about how it may affect children as age verification mechanisms on the platform are not deemed effective. This is the second investigation launched by the Commission against TikTok under the DSA, with their first probe initiated in February 2024 to assess potential violations related to protection of minors, advertising transparency, data access for researchers, and management of addictive and harmful design.
The Commission’s primary focus is on safeguarding user well-being, particularly that of children. They want to ensure that large platforms like TikTok adhere to the rules set out in the DSA. The investigation into TikTok Lite will help determine whether further action needs to be taken to protect consumers from any harm that may arise from these platforms.
