TikTok proprietor ByteDance is dealing with recent questions on its compliance with the European Union’s Digital Providers Act (DSA), an internet governance and content material moderation framework that places a authorized obligation on bigger platforms to mitigate systemic dangers in areas like youth psychological well being.
The EU’s newest issues about TikTok’s DSA compliance middle on the launch of TikTok Lite. It is a model of the video sharing app which just lately launched (“check launched”, per TikTok) in France and Spain — letting 18+ yr outdated customers there earn factors for sure in-app actions, comparable to liking content material or following new creators. TikTok says these factors may be redeemed for present playing cards or “cash” that may be gifted to creators.
The reward-linked engagement characteristic appears to have triggered concern within the EU about doubtlessly addictive design which may have a detrimental influence on younger individuals’s psychological well being. The European Fee oversees platforms’ compliance with DSA system threat necessities.
In a press launch asserting the request for data (RFI), the Fee stated it’s requested TikTok for extra particulars on the chance evaluation it ought to have carried out earlier than deploying the brand new app within the EU.
“This issues the potential influence of the brand new ‘Activity and Reward Lite’ programme on the safety of minors, in addition to on the psychological well being of customers, particularly in relation to the potential stimulation of addictive behaviour,” it wrote, including that it’s additionally requesting information in regards to the measures TikTok has put in place to mitigate such systemic dangers.
TikTok has been given 24 hours to supply the chance evaluation for TikTok Lite. It has till April 26 to supply different requested data, after which the Fee stated it is going to analyse its reply and assess subsequent steps, comparable to whether or not or to not open a proper investigation.
Reached for touch upon the Fee’s RFI, a TikTok spokesperson stated: “Now we have already been in direct contact with the Fee relating to this product and can reply to the request for data.”
ByteDance, which owns TikTok, is one in all round two dozen bigger on-line platforms which might be topic to the strictest layer of DSA guidelines — requiring them to take steps to mitigate systemic dangers use of their platforms may trigger. Penalties for failing to adjust to the regulation can attain as much as 6% of world annual turnover which may result in some hefty fines for TikTok for any confirmed compliance failures.
The broader influence of the pan-EU regulation is more likely to be on platforms’ product design selections, with EU enforcers having powers that would doubtlessly pressure the reform of whole enterprise fashions in the event that they’re discovered to have poisonous impacts.
TikTok is already beneath investigation within the EU in relation to quite a lot of DSA obligations, together with within the space of safety of minors and the chance administration of addictive design and dangerous content material, after the Fee introduced a proper probe again in February. However the newest RFI suggests the EU is apprehensive there are extra problems with concern.
It’s specific fascinating to see the Fee intervening so swiftly after an tentative product launch — because the TikTok Lite app solely seems to have been dwell within the two markets for a really transient interval. The Fee says it launched this month. (And right here, for instance, is a Spanish YouTube video on the reward characteristic which was posted slightly below per week in the past the place the vlogger says this system for incomes cash “simply by watching movies” has solely simply been made out there, and thus far solely on some Android units.)
It’s not clear whether or not TikTok carried out a DSA threat evaluation for the brand new reward program forward of launching TikTok Lite within the two EU markets. A TikTok spokesman didn’t reply once we requested about that. However the regulation’s deal with systemic threat basically makes such a step compulsory for options which might be more likely to enchantment to minors.
TikTok did inform us it requires TikTok Lite customers to confirm that they’re 18 or older with a view to gather factors via their use of the app. Requested in regards to the robustness of the age verification know-how it’s utilizing, its spokesman stated the processes concerned can embody issues like “submitting a selfie with a photograph ID (e.g passport or drivers license), bank card authorisations and many others”.
Different restrictions on the reward program TikTok highlighted are a most restrict on rewards it stated is “roughly” equal to €1 per day. It additionally stated there’s a most day by day video time restrict for rewards of 1 hour — so, presumably, you may solely earn factors for one hour’s price of video watching, after which you received’t accrue any extra factors that day.
How clearly such limits are communicated to TikTok Lite customers could also be one space of curiosity to EU enforcers as they ask the platform about its design selections.
Shopper teams in Europe have beforehand raised issues about numerous points of TikTok’s platform design, together with its use of digital forex to create engagement incentives. Complaints raised again in 2021 had been funnelled via the Shopper Safety Cooperation Community, with the Fee concerned in encouraging a dialogue between the 2 sides. Then, in June 2022, the process culminated in TikTok providing a collection of commitments — together with pledging to spice up transparency round its digital cash and digital items.
Nevertheless judging by the Fee’s oversight of TikTok’s strategy to DSA compliance the platform might must go additional to fulfill enforcers of the rebooted EU Web rulebook, which got here totally into pressure this February — however with systemic threat parts anticipated to be revered as of late August 2023.
