TikTok suspends its reward-to-watch feature after EU threats

EU commissioner Thierry Breton had given TikTok 48 hours to respond as he threatened to block the 'addictive' feature

Thierry Breton described it as 'addictive as cigarettes', and TikTok has now dropped the ‘task and reward’ feature it had rolled out in France and Spain. Stock picture

A TikTok service offering rewards such as gift vouchers for watching videos has been suspended by the company shortly after the EU threatened to block it amid fears of addiction among children.

On Monday, EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton said the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform had “failed to prove” the feature on TikTok Lite, which launched recently in France and Spain, complied with obligations under sweeping new Digital Service Act (DSA) laws.