What is TikTok Lite and why is the EU concerned about it?

UPDATE: Apr. 25, 2024, 11:47 a.m. GMT TikTok will voluntarily suspend TikTok Lite's reward program amid the EU's concerns. "TikTok always seeks to engage constructively with the EU Commission and other regulators. We are therefore voluntarily suspending the rewards functions in TikTok Lite while we address the concerns that they have raised," the company posted on X on Wednesday. The original article follows.

TikTok is officially under investigation by the EU and that means everything that goes with it, including the company's spinoff app, TikTok Lite.

As of February, the European Commission (the EU's executive branch) has been conducting a probe into TikTok's compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA). And on Wednesday, the Commission gave TikTok 24 hours to come up with a risk assessment specifically on TikTok Lite, one it says should have been done before launch in the EU.

Launched quietly in in France and Spain in April, TikTok Lite is the data-light version of the app that's designed for areas with slower internet speeds. First launched in Thailand in 2018, TikTok Lite currently has over 1 billion downloads to date with the top countries being India, Brazil, and Indonesia, according to data aggregator Sensor Tower.

The section of the app that's particularly drawn the ire of the EU is TikTok Lite's "Tasks and Rewards", Reuters reports. Here, users over 18 can earn points through watching and liking videos, following TikTok creators, and referring people to the app (this last one is also available on the main TikTok app through Rewards). Users can then cash in these points for things like Amazon vouchers or TikTok coins, the in-app currency that lets you pay creators.

In its announcement, the European Commission stipulated concerns over TikTok Lite's possible impact on the mental health of users, including children, "in particular in relation to the potential stimulation of addictive behaviour" — this is a major focus of the EU's overarching investigation into TikTok. As well as the risk assessment, TikTok is also required to supply information about "measures the platform has put in place to mitigate such systemic risks".

"As a platform that reaches millions of children and teenagers, TikTok must fully comply with the DSA and has a particular role to play in the protection of minors online," said Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market, in a press statement. "We are launching this formal infringement proceeding today to ensure that proportionate action is taken to protect the physical and emotional well-being of young Europeans."

Breton posted a...less formal statement on X (formerly Twitter) following the Commission's information request.

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Citing the DSA, the Commission made sure to note it "can impose fines for incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information in response to a request for information."

Only a few hours left, TikTok.