The European Commission has opened proceedings against TikTok under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The procedure was initiated because, prior to the launch of TikTok Lite in France and Spain, the company behind the application, Bytedance, did not take risk-reducing measures to protect children.
The objectionable part is TikTok Lite’s Task and Reward program, which allows users to earn points for certain tasks within the application, 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 its risk assessment report to the European Commission by April 23 and provide all requested information to the Brussels body by May 3.
In the event that 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 total annual income or worldwide turnover, as well as a coercive fine of up to 5 percent of the service provider’s average daily income or worldwide annual sales.
The European Commission will also introduce temporary measures to suspend the affected TikTok Lite program pending the evaluation.
Recently, the US House of Representatives also passed a bill that attempts to completely ban TikTok. This is the first time the US government can pass a law that would ban an entire social platform from America.
