TikTok ‘voluntarily’ suspends rewards features in EU after European Commission accuses users of causing addiction

The Chinese social network TikTok announced on Wednesday that it was “voluntarily” suspending the function of its new TikTok Lite app that rewards users for screen time and which is accused by the European Commission of being addictive, but vowed legal action in the US against the new law that forces it to sever ties with Chinese parent company ByteDance, or face being banned from the U.S.,

The European Commission announced on Monday the opening of an investigation and threatened to take a decision on Thursday to suspend the TikTok platform if it does not give up a system of gift points in exchange for viewing images, which encourages users to stay connected.

“TikTok continues to seek to work constructively with the European Commission and other regulatory institutions. Therefore, we are voluntarily suspending the reward functions in TikTok while we address the concerns raised,” the Chinese social network said in a statement. – a message posted on the X platform (formerly Twitter).

The European commissioner for the internal market, Thierry Breton, said that he had taken note of this decision, stating at the same time that the procedures started against TikTok regarding the “risk of addiction” will continue, reports AFP, taken over by Agerpres.

Meanwhile, the head of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, promised to take legal action against a new law promulgated on Wednesday by US President Joe Biden, which forces the platform to cut all ties with its Chinese parent company ByteDance, otherwise the network TikTok, very popular in the US, will be removed from smartphone app stores in the US.

“Don’t worry, because we’re not going anywhere,” assured Shou Zi Chew in a video message. “We will continue to fight in court for our rights. The facts and the (US) Constitution are on our side and we will win,” he said.

That law gives the ByteDance company a term of 270 days to find an investor from a country that is not an “adversary” of the US and for this investor to buy the TikTok platform.

The latter has about 170 million users in the US, but many US officials, both Democrats and Republicans, argue that the platform with short and entertaining videos allows China to spy on and manipulate users.

Publisher: MI

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