The European Union has issued an ultimatum to TikTok, warning of the potential suspension of rewards for TikTok Lite users amid growing concerns about youth addiction to the platform. The European Commission has escalated its action against the popular short video app after months of investigation and increasing concerns about its impact on the mental health and well-being of young users.
On February 19th of 2024, the European Commission announced an official investigation into TikTok, citing concerns about lack of transparency and the alleged inability to protect minors from its addictive design. In the words of European Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, Helena Dalli: “It is essential for digital platforms like TikTok to act responsibly and transparently, especially when it comes to protecting children and teenagers.” In the EU’s official statement, it highlighted the aspects that would be examined, specifically regarding compliance with obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA):
- Related to the assessment and mitigation of systemic risks, in terms of actual or foreseeable negative effects stemming from the design of TikTok’s system, including algorithmic systems, that may stimulate behavioural addictions and/ or create so-called ‘rabbit hole effects’. Such assessment is required to counter potential risks for the exercise of the fundamental right to the person’s physical and mental well-being, the respect of the rights of the child as well as its impact on radicalisation processes. Furthermore, the mitigation measures in place in this respect, notably age verification tools used by TikTok to prevent access by minors to inappropriate content, may not be reasonable, proportionate and effective.
- Put in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors, particularly with regard to default privacy settings for minors as part of the design and functioning of their recommender systems.
- Provide a searchable and reliable repository for advertisements presented on TikTok.
- The measures taken by TikTok to increase the transparency of its platform. The investigation concerns suspected shortcomings in giving researchers access to TikTok’s publicly accessible data as mandated by Article 40 of the DSA.
This warning of rewards suspension comes just two months after the European Commission launched its investigation. Since then, there has been an increase in pressure from European regulators to address concerns about the app’s addictive design. On April 22, the European Commission decided to prohibit the implementation of rewards in the Lite version of TikTok, a decisive measure aimed at addressing the addiction of young users to the platform. In an official statement, European Commission spokesperson Johannes Bahrke declared: “This measure is an important step in protecting the mental health of our youngest citizens and ensuring a safe and healthy online environment for all.”
These decisions reflect a significant shift in the European Union’s attitude towards social media platforms and their responsibility in protecting younger users. TikTok, for its part, has expressed its commitment to working with regulators to address these concerns and promote safe and responsible use of its platform. However, it remains to be seen how this prohibition will affect the user experience and TikTok’s growth strategy in Europe and beyond.
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