The European Commission is threatening to suspend the TikTok Lite rewards programme, unless the Chinese-owned app provides answers within 24 hours.

The European Commission on Monday gave TikTok a 24-hour deadline to submit an assessment of potential health risks related to its new app TikTok Lite or face daily fines.

It comes after TikTok “failed to provide” information earlier this month.

TikTok Lite, a slimmed down version of TikTok, launched in France and Spain in March. It is optimized for slower internet connections and uses less memory.

It enables users over the age of 18 to earn points that can be redeemed for vouchers or gift cards.

The Commission says it wants the Chinese-owned company to show how it assessed the addictiveness and mental health risks of the scheme"

If TikTok fails to reply within the 24-hour deadline the company faces fines amounting to one percent of its annual revenue.

The bloc’s, executive, also announced Monday it was launching a second probe to determine if TikTok breached the EU’s Digital Service Act.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    23
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    2 months ago

    It took until the end to say, but you earn these points and get these gift cards or vouchers for watching and liking videos.

    Which, you must admit, sounds like it would go against a regular company’s business model…

    • Daxtron2@startrek.website
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      10
      ·
      2 months ago

      Yeah I’d be interested to see how many interactions it takes to actually earn them. Could set up a bot in an emulator to try and get it lol

    • SoupBrick@yiffit.net
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      2 months ago

      More watch time/interaction = more algorithm training and ad exposure. I would imagine the profits will outweigh the expenses, especially if the pay is $1 for every 50 watched videos or something.

      • azertyfun@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        10
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        2 months ago

        It’s way worse, it’s a handful of (less than 10 IIRC) cents of monopoly money for watching over an hour’s content.

        There is truly no value proposition whatsoever as literally any kind of even terribly sub-minimum wage work would be more lucrative, yet it apparently appeals to (typically) students with zero income.

        It’s cyberpunk dystopia except instead of cool cyber-implants you get a lame rectangle-shaped dopamine pump that also gives you crippling depression.

        • RGB3x3@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          2 months ago

          People don’t use these things as primary income. It’s an incentive to keep swiping because they’ll say to themselves “just a couple more and I can get a $5 gift card. I’m here anyway.”

          And so they just keep swiping. They become addicted.

      • meco03211@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        2 months ago

        And in come the farmers to game the system which doesn’t generate revenue for the advertisers but tiktok would still rake in the impressions.

    • ErilElidor@feddit.de
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      2 months ago

      Well, it means you are incentivized to scroll through the app more, meaning you see more ads as well. 110% sure it pays off for them