TikTok has previously been scrutinised by lawmakers and regulators over the way it handles user data
Topline: TikTok, one the of the world’s most downloaded apps, has rolled out new safety features aimed at protecting young users online in its latest bid to fight off concerns about user safety.
- Parents will now be able to remotely restrict feed content, stop direct messages and limit how much time their child spends on the app, by linking their children’s accounts with their own profiles.
- TikTok also introduced new in-app prompts that encourage users to consider taking time off the app, extending the screen time management feature they introduced last year.
- The new measures follow concerns by U.S. and U.K. regulators over how the four-year-old app handles the data of its youngest users.
- TikTok, which has been downloaded more than 1 billion times, has primarily appealed to users between 16 and 25, and has millions of users in the U.S.
- Cormac Keenan, TikTok’s head of safety and trust in EMEA, said in a statement: “As part of our commitment to safety, the wellbeing of our users is incredibly important to us. We want people to have fun on TikTok, but it's also important for our community to look after their wellbeing which means having a healthy relationship with online apps and services.”
- Last week, the U.K. government announced its new plans to regulate the content that appears on social media platforms like TikTok, in efforts to keep young and vulnerable users safe.
Key background: TikTok, owned by Chinese tech giant Bytedance, was fined $5.7 million by the Federal Trade Commission last year for after being accused of illegally collecting the data of users aged under 13 years old. TikTok has since barred under-13s from uploading videos, leaving comments, sending messages and building a profile on the app, but they can still watch a curated selection of videos. In the U.K., information commissioner Elizabeth Denham last year opened an investigation into the app, including its “completely open” messaging system.
TikTok has sought to allay safety fears, and last year gathered some of its prominent creators to star in a video campaign to educate users about its privacy and safety controls. The app has been targeted by U.S. lawmakers in recent months over concerns about data protections and user safety, and claims that China could use the app to spy on young American users. TikTok has denied this.
Big number: ByteDance is valued at more than $75 billion.
