TikTok, owned by ByteDance, has agreed to permanently withdraw its TikTok Lite rewards program from the EU to comply with the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), the European Commission said on Monday.
The TikTok Lite app includes a "rewards program" that allows users to earn points for completing certain tasks on the platform, such as watching videos, liking content, following creators, or inviting friends to join.
In April this year, shortly after TikTok launched the app in France and Spain, the European Union required TikTok to immediately conduct a risk assessment because the EU was concerned that the app might affect the mental health of children and users.
According to the DSA, large online platforms must report their potential risks to the EU before launching new features and take effective measures to deal with these risks.
The EU executive stated that TikTok has now made a legally binding commitment to withdraw its rewards program from the EU and will not launch any other plans to circumvent the decision.
"Any breach of the undertaking will immediately constitute a breach of the DSA and may therefore lead to fines," the Commission said. "A separate investigation into whether TikTok breached online content rules designed to protect children and ensure transparency in advertising is still ongoing."
The investigation began in February this year, putting the social media platform at risk of a hefty fine.