‘Toxic, addictive as cigarettes’ – EU threatens to ban TikTok

The European Union has threatened to ban a new service launched by TikTok in the continent.

It said it believes that the new service could be “as addictive as cigarettes.”

It called on the TikTok company to offer “compelling” fresh evidence that children would be safeguarded.

This would be the first time the EU has used sweeping new powers to impose sanctions on social media companies.

The EU Digital Service Act (DSA) came into force in August 2023.

The EU commission, according to the Guardian UK, gave TikTok until Wednesday to “bring arguments in its defence which the commission will carefully assess.”

The digital commissioner, Thierry Breton, said the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform had “failed to prove” that TikTok Lite, which rewards users for watching clips, complied with obligations under the act, describing the service as “toxic”.

The reward feature could be suspended in the bloc if the company fails to provide a satisfactory response to regulators’ concerns about the impact on users’ mental health.

Despite the fact that there was an ongoing DSA investigation into TikTok over other concerns in regard to the safeguarding of children, Breton said that the company went on to launch the app in France and Spain this month.

He said TikTok was used by millions of children in Europe and the commission was “sparing no effort to protect them”.

The new watch-and-get-rewarded application offers users prizes such as Amazon vouchers, gift cards via PayPal or TikTok’s Coins currency for points earned through “tasks”, which include watching videos, liking content, following creators or inviting friends to join.