Virtual coins, convertible into gift cards, in exchange for watching videos. TikTok, from the Chinese group ByteDance, launched its controversial new service in France and Spain at the end of March.

The European Commission, which now plays the role of digital police in the EU, believes that the mechanism presents "serious risks to users' mental health", by forcing people to stay connected, reported the Agence France-Presse (AFP).

However, the platform did not notify Brussels, prior to its launch, of a risk assessment, in accordance with its obligations under the new Digital Services Act (DSA) legislation.

Therefore, the European executive is preparing to impose the suspension of the rewards program: "Before formally adopting it, TikTok was given until 24 April to present its arguments in its defense".

"We are disappointed" with the opening of this procedure: the TikTok Lite rewards program is not accessible to minors under 18 years of age and includes a daily limit for watching videos", a TikTok spokesperson told AFP. However, the group intends to "continue discussions" with Brussels.

The European Commission issued a first warning on 17 April, asking the platform to provide within 24 hours an assessment of the risks associated with this deployment and to detail the means implemented to reduce them. But "TikTok did not provide the document in time", explained the Commission.

"Endless streams of short, fast-paced videos may seem like fun, but they expose our children to the risk of addiction, anxiety, depression, eating disorders and reduced attention spans", warned the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton.

"We suspect that TikTok 'Lite' is as toxic and addictive as 'light' cigarettes", he stressed, quoted in a statement.

TikTok must provide its risk assessment report by Tuesday at the latest, and answer other questions by 3 May.

In the absence of a timely response, the Commission may impose fines of up to 1% of the group's annual global turnover and sanctions of up to 5% of daily turnover.

TikTok Lite rewards users with 'tokens' (cryptocurrency) if they log in daily for ten days, spend time watching videos (with a limit of 60-85 minutes per day) and perform certain actions, such as liking videos and following content creators. These coins can then be exchanged for gift cards on partner sites, such as Amazon.

With short-form videos, TikTok, which has attracted over 1.5 billion users worldwide, has been accused for several years in the United States and Europe of causing addictive behavior among teenagers.

[News updated at 09:09]

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