TikTok, bowing to EU, withdraws rewards programme

Brussels, Belgium: TikTok will permanently remove a feature in a spinoff app in France and Spain that rewards users for watching and liking videos, bo...

Brussels, Belgium: TikTok will permanently remove a feature in a spinoff app in France and Spain that rewards users for watching and liking videos, bowing to pressure from European regulators, the EU and the Chinese-owned company said Monday.

TikTok Lite arrived in France and Spain -- the only EU countries where it is available -- in April this year. Users aged 18 and over can earn points to exchange for goods like vouchers or gift cards through the app's rewards programme.

"We have obtained the permanent withdrawal of TikTok Lite Rewards programme, which could have had very addictive consequences," the EU's internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton, said.

TikTok Lite is a smaller version of the popular TikTok app, taking up less memory in a smartphone and made to perform over slower internet connections.

TikTok made commitments to remove the programme from the 27-country bloc and not to launch "any other programme which would circumvent the withdrawal", the European Commission said in a statement.