DSA: EU Commission threatens TikTok with ban on new features
For the first time, the EU Commission wants to have certain functions of an app switched off because of the Digital Service Act – if TikTok does not move.
(Bild: Shutterstock.com/ Kaspars Grinvalds)
The EU Commission is threatening to order the shutdown of certain features of the "TikTok Lite" app if operator Bytedance does not comply with its duty to provide information. The Commission considers the reward function of the app, which is only available in Spain and France, to be potentially addictive. The Commission announced in Brussels on Monday that Bytedance had failed to comply with its information obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA) despite being requested to do so.
"Task and reward" program
With TikTok Lite, which is considered a particularly data-saving version of the popular app, users are rewarded with virtual coins in the "Task and Reward" program when they watch videos and interact with them. These coins can be exchanged for vouchers for products or online stores. This could be as "toxic and addictive as light cigarettes", Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton is quoted as saying.
The DSA obliges providers to carry out a risk assessment when introducing potentially problematic features. The Commission criticizes Bytedance for launching the version of the app in France and Spain without first assessing the associated risks in a report. Such a report was supposed to be submitted by April 18 - according to the Commission, TikTok failed to do so.
Without this mandatory risk assessment, the operation of these features would be illegal under the DSA. The Commission has now issued a formal request for information, which Bytedance must respond to by Tuesday. Failure to do so could result in a one-off fine of up to one percent of annual turnover or 5 percent of daily turnover worldwide.
On the other hand, the Commission assumes, until proven otherwise, that TikTok has deliberately ignored the provisions of the DSA. Should TikTok not be able to refute this by Wednesday, the Commission intends to order the deactivation of the features in question. The order could be issued as early as Thursday and would then apply for 60 days.
"We are deadly serious about this"
"We are deadly serious about this", said Commission circles on Monday. Objections from the TikTok operator would, of course, be examined before the order was issued. Nevertheless, it is up to the operator to demonstrate that it is complying with the DSA. In addition to the EU Commission, the Spanish and French supervisory authorities and the Irish authority responsible for Bytedance are also involved in the proceedings. The Commission has had TikTok under scrutiny for some time.
"The EU Commission's vigorous action against TikTok Lite is the right and responsible thing to do", said Maximilian Funke-Kaiser, digital policy spokesperson for the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag, welcoming the move. "The suspicion that TikTok Lite endangers the mental health of children is not a trifle." The procedure is a test for the DSA, says the FDP politician.
(olb)