Topline
TikTok, the popular video sharing app and Gen Z’s social media platform of choice, said Wednesday it will strengthen its age policy enforcement after the choking death of a 10-year-old girl last month was linked to a “blackout challenge” she saw on the platform, the latest in a string of child safety issues TikTok has faced in the past year.
TikTok users in Italy will be prompted to reenter their birthdate in a move to get children under ... [+]
Key Facts
The social media platform announced Wednesday it will have every user in Italy re-pass through the platform’s age verification process in a move to weed out children on the app.
On February 9, an update will force users to input a birthday date that shows they are older than 13 years old to continue to use the platform, TikTok said.
Alexandra Evans, TikTok’s Head of Child Safety in Europe, said the platform came to an agreement with Italian regulators on the new safety features after weeks of talks.
Italian regulators said TikTok has also agreed to consider using artificial intelligence to identify children on the platform, and will launch a feature to allow other users to report anyone who appears to be too young to use the app, according to Reuters.
A 10-year-old girl in Palermo, Italy, died after her younger sister said she attempted the “blackout challenge,” a social media trend in which users film themselves cutting off oxygen to their brain to cause a high, according to AFP.
In the U.S., children under the age of 13 are permitted to sign up for TikTok, but with very limited features; they are unable to post their own content, comment on videos or message other users, and do not have a public profile.
Key Background
TikTok’s user base exploded in 2020 as much of the world hunkered down at home during the coronavirus pandemic, but the platform has been plagued by safety concerns when it comes to its youngest users. In Septeber, a graphic video clip of a man committing suicide went viral on the platform, and TikTok struggled to take it down and keep it from circulating. TikTok was one of the social media companies asked by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in December to disclose how their practices and guidelines affect young users. Last month, TikTok set all accounts belonging to users between 13 and 15 years old to the app’s default private setting, with some collaboration and sharing features switched off for underage users. In 2019, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance was fined $5.7 million by the Federal Trade Commission after being accused of collecting data from users under the age of 13.
Further Reading
TikTok agrees to block users in Italy who say they are under 13 after girl dies (Reuters)
Italy probes 'TikTok challenge' death of 10-year-old girl (AFP)