In France, the ByteDance group is currently testing a new version of TikTok called TikTok Lite. It introduces a “rewards” system to obtain points in exchange for time spent in the application. These points can then become vouchers.
“Are “Lite” social networks as addictive and toxic as “Light” cigarettes? » For Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner in charge of digital regulation, the new TikTok Lite application may pose a problem. Europe gives TikTok 24 hours to provide answers, before possibly deciding to go further. Marina Ferrari, the Secretary of State for Digital Affairs, also has questions. She denounces “a questionable drift of our digital space contrary to the principles of the digital society that we want to build”.
Advertisement
How do TikTok Lite rewards work?
TikTok Lite is very poorly named. Presented in other countries as a less data-intensive version of the social network (for people with a small package), in France it takes on a new dimension with its “Rewards” function, which replaces the application creation button original (TikTok Lite is made to consume, not to create).
In “Rewards”, there are several mini-games. Each day spent on the application earns points, following three content creators allows you to go even faster, while a sponsorship is the best way to progress, since it can bring in several thousand “miles” from one one shot. 100 points can then be converted into 1 euro cent, which can then be converted into vouchers.
This system obviously has a purpose: reinforce user addiction. TikTok already captures a large part of the available brain time of young French people, so why not make the application even more engaging with these paid mini-challenges? The amounts are not staggering, but after a certain time, the prize pool can become interesting. Especially if you play the game of limited-time challenges, by subscribing to people just for the money (which in turn amplifies the number of subscribers of certain accounts, which strengthens the ecosystem of the application ).
Officially, the “Rewards” part of TikTok Lite is prohibited for minors, protected by the European Digital Services Act (TikTok has more than 45 million users in Europe, which requires it to respect this rule since August 2023). TikTok asks for the date of birth and, with the help of a partner (Yoti, a British group), verifies the age of users with a selfie (you can also send your ID card or use a bank card). TikTok promises that it does not collect this data in any way, unlike Temu, which was singled out a few days ago for similar practices. Not all users also have access to the rewards, the deployment of which appears to be gradual. On our test iPhone, the rewards arrived after a week of using TikTok Lite.
Advertisement
TikTok perfectly embraces its cynicism
With this anti-minor protection, which is actually easily circumvented (a selfie of someone else, for example), TikTok legally protects itself. The company most certainly assumes that the user consents to the rules of its remuneration system, which does not make it guilty of a crime. In a way, TikTok embraces its cynicism perfectly. Money is a bait, the users are the ones who play this game. The goal of TikTok Lite is obviously to test the impact of money on the use of TikTok, before possibly extending the service to the 'international.
A week after its release, TikTok Lite is the seventh most downloaded app on the App Store, without any promotion in real TikTok. On Android, the application comes in second place in the Play Store.
Have there ever been apps like TikTok Lite? Yes, but not exactly in this form. Twitter, for example, pays some of its users based on the audience of their tweets, which encourages certain big accounts to create controversies for money. Sports betting apps, like Betclicalso offer “free money” in exchange for paid bets. Some video games also rely on a token system to bring their users back, with persistent notifications (TikTok Lite does this too). Finally, Chinese e-commerce apps, like Temu or Shein, are accustomed to these practices.
In the coming days, the European Union could try to block TikTok Lite, if the social network's responses do not suit it. What TikTok risks is to further harm its notoriety, while its link with China already threatens it with ban.