Korea’s Hidden Epidemic: The Shocking Truth Behind the ‘Cigarette-Level’ Menace Used by 5 Million

Short-form video platform ‘TikTok Lite’ is on the verge of surpassing 5 million domestic users. This is explained by its groundbreaking cash compensation policy.

TikTok Lite is a lighter version of TikTok, with fewer advanced editing features and a focus on video viewing.

It was first launched in Korea in December of last year, and according to WiseApp, the number of monthly active users (MAU) exceeded 4.5 million as of August. This is very rapid growth for an app that has been around for less than a year.

In particular, the background to the surge in users is the cash reward policy. TikTok Lite provides 100,000 won when inviting a friend, and additional rewards are also provided when the invited user completes missions such as checking attendance or watching videos.

Thanks to these benefits, TikTok Lite is leading the so-called ‘app tech’ trend. It is also noteworthy that users in their 40s have emerged as the main user base, accounting for 32.7% of the total.

But there are growing concerns about this rewards policy: users have to spend a lot of time on TikTok Lite to earn cash, which raises the possibility of digital addiction.

In fact, there are cases in Europe where cash compensation policies have been suspended due to these problems.

Compensation programs permanently abolished in Europe

Last April, TikTok Lite was launched in Europe, but at the time, the EU Commission pointed out that TikTok Lite had violated its obligations by not submitting a prior risk assessment report.

“Short, fast-moving and endless videos run the risk of exposing children to addiction, anxiety and mental health problems such as depression if used indiscriminately,” said EU Internal Markets Commissioner Thierry Breton. “We suspect that ‘TikTok Lite’ is as harmful and addictive as ‘cigarettes’.”

In Korea, the Korea Communications Commission is also reviewing TikTok Lite policies.

Some have also raised concerns about privacy leaks, given that TikTok Lite’s parent company, ByteDance, is a Chinese company. This is because it can provide user information upon request by the Chinese government.

In this regard, many countries have already banned or regulated the use of TikTok. Starting with India, many countries, including the United States, the European Union, Canada, and Japan, are restricting the use of TikTok by public institutions due to the risk of information leakage.

TikTok has been banned entirely in India, and other countries are also banning it on government-owned devices.

ByteDance has denied concerns that user data could be passed on to the Chinese government, but it was fined domestically in 2020 for illegally collecting personal data.

At the time, TikTok was accused of violating the Information and Communications Network Act by collecting personal information of children under the age of 14 without legal consent.