April 22, 2024 – 7:10 pm
The European Commission has opened proceedings against TikTok under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The action was initiated because, prior to the launch of TikTok Lite in France and Spain, the company behind the app, Bytedance, did not take risk-mitigation measures to protect children.
The rejected part is TikTok Lite's Tasks and Rewards program, which allows users to earn points for certain in-app tasks, such as watching videos, liking content, and inviting friends. Bytedance launched this without first assessing the risks involved, especially the addictive nature of the platform.
TikTok must submit a risk assessment report to the European Commission by April 23 and provide all required information to the Brussels body by May 3.
If TikTok does not respond within the specified deadline, the EU Commission may impose a fine of up to 1 percent of the service provider's gross annual income or worldwide turnover, in addition to a coercive fine of up to 5 percent of the service. The provider's average daily income or annual sales worldwide.
The European Commission will also introduce temporary measures to suspend the affected TikTok Lite software pending an evaluation.
Recently, the US House of Representatives also passed a bill that attempts to ban TikTok entirely. This is the first time that the US government has been able to pass a law banning an entire social platform from America.
