TikTok Lite, a low-bandwidth version of the popular video platform used widely in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, is exposing users to harmful content due to its lack of safety features, according to a new report from Mozilla.
Researchers found that TikTok Lite Save Data lacks essential user controls such as filters for offensive content and unwanted keywords, as well as tools to help manage screen time and reduce app addiction. Unlike the main app, TikTok Lite also fails to provide warning labels or banners for potentially harmful content, such as dangerous prank videos, “challenges,” election misinformation, and AI-generated content.
In response, TikTok disputed the findings, stating: “There are several factual inaccuracies in this report which fundamentally misrepresent our approach to safety. Content that breaks our rules is removed from TikTok Lite just as it is from our main app, and we offer numerous safety features which we would have explained if Mozilla had asked us before publishing their report.”
Mozilla claimed that TikTok declined to respond to the presented evidence. “So far they have not refuted any of the evidence that has been presented,” said Odanga Madung, the Mozilla researcher who led the investigation.
This report highlights a significant disparity in how large tech companies operate globally. While facing increased regulatory scrutiny in developed markets like the U.S. and Europe, similar oversight is often lacking in emerging markets.
For instance, TikTok suspended a gamification feature in a version of TikTok Lite launched in Europe earlier this year after EU regulators deemed it addictive and harmful. However, the “Save Data” version rolled out in emerging markets has not faced similar regulatory responses.
“TikTok’s ‘bite-size’ Lite app is a safety hazard for more than one billion of its users,” Madung said. “It’s akin to removing seat belts and airbags from a car and then selling it to an unsuspecting customer.” Madung suggested that TikTok compromised safety features in the Lite app to reduce the app’s required bandwidth.
The Android-only TikTok Lite, unavailable in the U.S. and most of Europe, targets users in emerging markets where mobile data can be costly, phones are often more basic, and network coverage is inconsistent. It has been downloaded more than 1 billion times since its 2018 launch, according to Sensor Tower data.
Researchers argued that the lack of safety features on TikTok Lite contravenes the company’s own policy on Dangerous Acts and Activity, which states that TikTok does not permit “showing or promoting dangerous activity and challenges.”
“The safety features TikTok Lite lacks aren’t complex and are perfectly compatible with a lower-bandwidth app,” said Claudio Agosti, co-founder of AI Forensics, which collaborated with Mozilla on the study. “TikTok’s decision to ignore these safety measures is clearly a choice, not a technical necessity.”
Source: Techcrunch.com
