TikTok tightens privacy features for younger users
3 years, 11 months ago

TikTok tightens privacy features for younger users

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A month after federal regulators ordered it to disclose how its practices affect children and teenagers, TikTok is tightening its privacy practices for the under-18 crowd Starting on Wednesday, default privacy setting for accounts with users aged 13 to 15 will be private. A feature called TikTok for Younger Users offers pre-selected, “age appropriate" videos. Last month, the Federal Trade Commission asked TikTok's parent company, along with Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and five other social media companies to provide detailed information on how they collect and use consumers’ personal data and how their practices affect children and teens.

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History of this topic

One billion users, but controversies mount up for TikTok
2 days, 3 hours ago

One billion users, but controversies mount up for TikTok

Hindustan Times  

TikTok's breakneck rise from niche video-sharing app to global social media behemoth has drawn intense scrutiny, particularly over its links to China. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said Saturday the government would shut down social network TikTok for at least a year from 2025. The EU is probing whether far-right presidential candidate Calin Georgescu's surprise victory in the first round …

Safety is ‘at the core’ of TikTok, European executive says
3 weeks, 6 days ago

Safety is ‘at the core’ of TikTok, European executive says

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The safety of TikTok users “is at the core of the platform”, one …

Tens of thousands of teens lying about their age on social media to beat safeguards
4 weeks, 1 day ago

Tens of thousands of teens lying about their age on social media to beat safeguards

The Telegraph  

The majority of children using social media apps are hiding their true age to access features meant for adults and teenagers, official research has revealed. Most under-18s using apps such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat have entered fake dates of birth to appear older than their real age, according to Ofcom. The figures outline the scale of children bypassing age …

How TikTok is encouraging young girls to get a sugar daddy
2 months, 1 week ago

How TikTok is encouraging young girls to get a sugar daddy

ABC  

A jury in WA was recently shown a recorded interview in which police questioned a 14-year-old girl about how she ended up on the couch at the house of a middle-aged man she'd met online. App prohibits underage people Several sugar daddy websites and apps exist online, promising to connect young "attractive" women with older "wealthy" men. TikTok videos reaching …

TikTok has known about how the app can harm teens and preteens, new documents show
2 months, 1 week ago

TikTok has known about how the app can harm teens and preteens, new documents show

NPR  

TikTok has known about how the app can harm teens and preteens, new documents show AYESHA RASCOE, HOST: TikTok executives were acutely aware of the potential dangers the app could cause to teens but appeared unconcerned, even though the company's own internal research validated the fears child safety advocates have been raising for years. But in internal documents, TikTok admitted …

Inside the TikTok documents: Stripping teens and boosting 'attractive' people
2 months, 1 week ago

Inside the TikTok documents: Stripping teens and boosting 'attractive' people

NPR  

Inside the TikTok documents: Stripping teens and boosting 'attractive' people toggle caption Damian Dovarganes/AP Kids as young as 15 were stripping on TikTok’s live feature fueled by adults who were paying for it. TikTok’s algorithm prioritizes beautiful people When TikTok’s main video feed saw “a high volume of … not attractive subjects” filling everyone’s screens, the app rejiggered its algorithm …

TikTok executives know about app’s effect on teens, lawsuit documents allege
2 months, 1 week ago

TikTok executives know about app’s effect on teens, lawsuit documents allege

NPR  

TikTok executives know about app’s effect on teens, lawsuit documents allege toggle caption Sebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty Images For the first time, internal TikTok communications have been made public that show a company unconcerned with the harms the app poses for American teenagers. “Unfortunately, this complaint cherry-picks misleading quotes and takes outdated documents out of context to misrepresent our commitment …

Justice Department sues TikTok, accusing the company of illegally collecting children’s data
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Justice Department sues TikTok, accusing the company of illegally collecting children’s data

Associated Press  

The Justice Department sued TikTok on Friday, accusing the company of violating children’s online privacy law and running afoul of a settlement it had reached with another federal agency. The latest lawsuit focuses on allegations that TikTok, a trend-setting platform popular among young users, and its China-based parent company ByteDance violated a federal law that requires kid-oriented apps and websites …

US DOJ files lawsuit against TikTok, ByteDance for failing on child privacy
4 months, 3 weeks ago

US DOJ files lawsuit against TikTok, ByteDance for failing on child privacy

Al Jazeera  

The US alleges that for years millions of American children under 13 have been using TikTok and the site ‘has been collecting and retaining’ their data. The United States Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against TikTok and parent company ByteDance for failing to protect children’s privacy on the social media app The government said on Friday TikTok violated …

Americans divided on TikTok ban even as Biden campaign joins the app: Poll results
10 months ago

Americans divided on TikTok ban even as Biden campaign joins the app: Poll results

The Hindu  

U.S. President Joe Biden’s campaign is embracing TikTok to court younger voters ahead of the presidential elections, but U.S. adults have mixed views about whether the video-sharing app should even operate in the country. Talks of a TikTok ban reached a fever pitch in the U.S. early last year after a series of Western lawmakers, governments and regulators raised concerns …

Proposed TikTok ban for kids fails in Virginia’s Legislature
10 months, 1 week ago

Proposed TikTok ban for kids fails in Virginia’s Legislature

Associated Press  

RICHMOND, Va. — A GOP legislative effort to prevent Virginia children from using the popular video-sharing app TikTok — an idea backed by Republican Gov. The most recent iteration said TikTok Inc. and ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns the app, “shall not provide access to TikTok to any child within the Commonwealth.” The bill would have allowed a child’s …

Facebook, Instagram, TikTok CEOs face tough questions on child safety online I Watch LIVE proceedings
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Facebook, Instagram, TikTok CEOs face tough questions on child safety online I Watch LIVE proceedings

India TV News  

California: The CEOs of top social media apps and video streaming platforms including Meta, TikTok, X and others are testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee about child exploitation on their platforms, as lawmakers, families and advocates are growing increasingly concerned about the effects of social media on young people’s lives. So independent regulation needs to step in.” Facebook to face …

A group representing TikTok, Meta and X sues Utah over strict new limits on app use for minors
1 year ago

A group representing TikTok, Meta and X sues Utah over strict new limits on app use for minors

Associated Press  

SALT LAKE CITY — A trade group that represents TikTok and other major tech companies sued Utah on Monday over its first-in-the-nation laws requiring children and teens to obtain parental consent to use social media apps. The trade association includes many of the world’s leading social media companies, including TikTok, Snapchat parent company Snap Inc., Facebook and Instagram parent company …

YouTube tops in popular list of platforms among teens | Know-why
1 year ago

YouTube tops in popular list of platforms among teens | Know-why

India TV News  

In a recent report, around 7 in 10 teens visit YouTube every day, including around 16 per cent who were witnessed being "almost constant" on the site. As per the Pew Research Center, YouTube will be continuing to top in popular list of platforms among teens, followed by three social media platforms- TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram. Older teens are more …

TikTok has a problem of sexual explicit material. How children are at risk
1 year, 1 month ago

TikTok has a problem of sexual explicit material. How children are at risk

Firstpost  

As the top social media app used by teens, the presence of explicit content on TikTok can put young users in harm’s way. And while TikTok and regulators scramble to catch up with moderation needs, it’s ultimately up to parents and users to navigate these harms online Explicit content has long been a feature of the internet and social media, …

TikTok is hit with $368 million fine under Europe's strict data privacy rules
1 year, 3 months ago

TikTok is hit with $368 million fine under Europe's strict data privacy rules

The Hindu  

European regulators slapped TikTok with a $368 million fine on Friday for failing to protect children's privacy, the first time that the popular short video-sharing app has been punished for breaching Europe's strict data privacy rules. Ireland's Data Protection Commission, the lead privacy regulator for Big Tech companies whose European headquarters are largely in Dublin, said it was fining TikTok …

TikTok unveils changes to meet tough new EU rules
1 year, 4 months ago

TikTok unveils changes to meet tough new EU rules

The Hindu  

Video-sharing platform TikTok announced Friday changes to meet strict EU rules including allowing European users to turn off the addictive feature that shows content based on their interests. Heeding that warning, TikTok said it would allow users in Europe "to turn off personalisation", referring to the "For You" feed that keeps people watching videos with recommended content based on their …

UK fines TikTok $15.9m over misuse of children’s data
1 year, 8 months ago

UK fines TikTok $15.9m over misuse of children’s data

Al Jazeera  

Watchdog says TikTok failed to get consent from parents to process the data, as required by the United Kingdom’s data protection laws. The UK’s privacy watchdog hit TikTok with a multimillion-dollar penalty for misusing children’s data and violating other protections for young users’ personal information. The British watchdog, which was investigating data breaches between May 2018 and July 2020, said …

TikTok, Snapchat growing in popularity among UK children
1 year, 8 months ago

TikTok, Snapchat growing in popularity among UK children

The Hindu  

The number of children using TikTok and Snapchat rose last year in Britain, according to research published by media regulator Ofcom. Around half of those aged between 3 and 17 use TikTok and Snapchat, figures collected as part of the watchdog’s annual survey of children's and parents’ online attitudes showed. Ofcom’s annual report on attitudes towards media found children’s usage …

Arkansas sues TikTok, Meta over privacy, child safety claims
1 year, 8 months ago

Arkansas sues TikTok, Meta over privacy, child safety claims

Associated Press  

— The state of Arkansas sued TikTok and Facebook parent Meta on Tuesday, claiming the social media companies were misleading consumers about the safety of children on their platforms and protections of users’ private data. The state filed two lawsuits against TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance and a third lawsuit against Meta, which also owns Instagram, accusing the …

“Gross spectacle”: TikTok hearing on Capitol Hill goes off the rails into bizarre GOP racism
1 year, 8 months ago

“Gross spectacle”: TikTok hearing on Capitol Hill goes off the rails into bizarre GOP racism

Salon  

Facebook collects about as much data from underage users as TikTok does, and federal law enforcement agencies have almost limitless access to that data. When asked if he'd be willing to divest TikTok from ByteDance, its Chinese parent company, he responded: "American social media companies don't have a good track record with data privacy and user security. He also detailed …

State AGs demand TikTok comply with US consumer protection investigations
1 year, 9 months ago

State AGs demand TikTok comply with US consumer protection investigations

Firstpost  

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the petition alleges TikTok has failed to preserve some potentially relevant evidence, in the form of internal employee chat messages “and is hampering the investigation of Tennessee and other states across the country, including California.” Washington: A group of 45 state attorneys general in the United States on Monday demanded Chinese-owned social media app …

TikTok introduces default settings on teen accounts to limit screen time, but do the changes go far enough?
1 year, 9 months ago

TikTok introduces default settings on teen accounts to limit screen time, but do the changes go far enough?

ABC  

TikTok has announced changes to default settings for teenagers and will introduce more parental controls in its Family Pairing function. Key points: TikTok users under 18 years of age will have an automatic, 60-minute daily screen time limit Teens can opt out of the 60-minute default However, if users are under 13 years, a parent or guardian will need to …

TikTok sets new default time limits for minors
1 year, 9 months ago

TikTok sets new default time limits for minors

Associated Press  

TikTok said Wednesday that every account held by a user under the age of 18 will have a default 60-minute daily screen time limit in the coming weeks. The update also mirrors gaming rules imposed on minors in China, where TikTok’s parent company ByteDance was formerly based. TikTok also said Wednesday that it will also begin prompting teens to set …

TikTok sets new default time limits for minors
1 year, 9 months ago

TikTok sets new default time limits for minors

The Hindu  

TikTok said on Wednesday that every account held by a user under the age of 18 will have a default 60-minute daily screen time limit in the coming weeks. The update also mirrors gaming rules imposed on minors in China, where TikTok's parent company ByteDance is based. TikTok also said on Wednesday that it will also begin prompting teens to …

TikTok to develop parental control tool to block certain videos: Report
1 year, 9 months ago

TikTok to develop parental control tool to block certain videos: Report

Hindustan Times  

TikTok said on Wednesday it is developing a tool that will allow parents to prevent their teens from viewing content containing certain words or hashtags on the short-form video app, as the embattled company looks to shore up its public image. Like other social media apps, TikTok has also faced criticism for not doing enough to shield teens from inappropriate …

TikTok to set default daily time limit of 60 minutes for minors
1 year, 9 months ago

TikTok to set default daily time limit of 60 minutes for minors

LA Times  

TikTok says every account held by a user under the age of 18 will have a default daily screen time limit of up to 60 minutes in the coming weeks. TikTok said Wednesday that every account held by a user younger than 18 will have a default 60-minute daily screen time limit in the coming weeks. TikTok also said Wednesday …

TikTok sets new default time limits for under-18s
1 year, 9 months ago

TikTok sets new default time limits for under-18s

Al Jazeera  

Changes come in the midst of growing concerns globally over the app’s security and ability to push certain content. TikTok is to set a default 60-minute daily time limit for all accounts held by under-18s and is developing a tool to allow parents to prevent their children from viewing content containing certain words or hashtags as the company looks to …

TikTok at Risk: Canada starts investigating platform over data collection from young users
1 year, 9 months ago

TikTok at Risk: Canada starts investigating platform over data collection from young users

Firstpost  

Four Canadian privacy authorities are investigating TikTok’s gathering, use, and disclosure of personal information, including whether it is in compliance with laws when working with younger users. Federal and provincial governments are investigating whether the platform, which is controlled by China’s ByteDance, is in compliance with privacy rules. “The joint inquiry will concentrate on TikTok’s privacy policies in relation to …

Is 13 too young to have TikTok or an Instagram account? Some medical experts think so
1 year, 10 months ago

Is 13 too young to have TikTok or an Instagram account? Some medical experts think so

ABC  

The surgeon general is the "nation's doctor" in the United States. He said it poses a risk to young people's "self-worth and their relationships", adding: "I, personally, based on the data I've seen, believe that 13 is too early … the skewed and often distorted environment of social media often does a disservice to many of those children." Young people …

Report: TikTok boosts posts about eating disorders, suicide
2 years ago

Report: TikTok boosts posts about eating disorders, suicide

Associated Press  

TikTok’s algorithms are promoting videos about self-harm and eating disorders to vulnerable teens, according to a report published Wednesday that highlights concerns about social media and its impact on youth mental health. “It’s like being stuck in a hall of distorted mirrors where you’re constantly being told you’re ugly, you’re not good enough, maybe you should kill yourself,” said the …

Under 18 TikTok users to lose livestreaming access
2 years, 2 months ago

Under 18 TikTok users to lose livestreaming access

The Hindu  

Under-18 TikTok users will no longer be able to livestream as the app's latest safety update restricts minors from accessing the feature, according to a report by The Verge. In addition to restricting minors from livestreaming, TikTok also plans to introduce adult-only streams that may include content which is not child-friendly. Apart from safety updates, TikTok is also launching a …

TikTok introduces Photo Mode and expanded editing options for users
2 years, 2 months ago

TikTok introduces Photo Mode and expanded editing options for users

The Hindu  

As social media platforms and tech companies race to copy TikTok’s video-based model for market success, the viral app has introduced a range of features for users to edit their multimedia posts even further and share more photos. TikTok’s new Photo Mode will allow users to share their images, complete with a musical background, so that other viewers can swipe …

Beware! This TikTok bug could expose your private videos to millions
2 years, 3 months ago

Beware! This TikTok bug could expose your private videos to millions

India TV News  

Microsoft 365 Defender Research Team has discovered a vulnerability in the TikTok app for Android that can let hackers take over private, short-form videos of millions of users once they clicked on a malicious link. "Attackers could have leveraged the vulnerability to hijack an account without users' awareness if a targeted user simply clicked a specially crafted link," the tech …

TikTok Wants To Restrict Livestream Viewing To People Over 18 Years
2 years, 5 months ago

TikTok Wants To Restrict Livestream Viewing To People Over 18 Years

News 18  

TikTok is reportedly restricting live streams to viewers who are 18 years of age and above, to prevent minors from encountering adult content. The select users in the testing period can toggle the “mature themes” button to restrict their live streaming to adults only. “We’re testing ways to help better empower creators to reach the intended audience for their specific …

UPDATE 1-U.S. states probing TikTok's effects on young people
2 years, 9 months ago

UPDATE 1-U.S. states probing TikTok's effects on young people

The Hindu  

Eight states, including California and Massachusetts, announced on Wednesday that they had launched a bipartisan, nationwide probe of TikTok, focusing on whether the popular video-sharing app causes physical or mental health harm to young people. “The investigation focuses, among other things, on the methods and techniques utilized by TikTok to boost young user engagement, including increasing the duration of time …

YouTube, TikTok, Snap execs to face US senators on kids’ safety
3 years, 1 month ago

YouTube, TikTok, Snap execs to face US senators on kids’ safety

Al Jazeera  

The platforms are woven into the fabric of young people’s lives, often influencing their dress, dance moves and diet. Bearing down on hugely popular social media platforms and their impact on children, the leaders of a United States Senate panel have called executives from YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat to face questions about what their companies are doing to ensure young …

TikTok will automatically remove content related to nudity, violence from its platform
3 years, 5 months ago

TikTok will automatically remove content related to nudity, violence from its platform

India Today  

TikTok will now automatically remove obscene content from its platform. If there is content related to minor safety, nudity, sexual activities, illegal activities and regulated goods, the videos will be yanked immediately. This goes completely against TikTok’s guidelines, the app does not allow users below 13 to post videos on its platform. As per the latest reports, a few TikTok …

Parents To Facebook: Don't Make A Kid-Only Instagram, Just A Better Instagram
3 years, 6 months ago

Parents To Facebook: Don't Make A Kid-Only Instagram, Just A Better Instagram

NPR  

Parents To Facebook: Don't Make A Kid-Only Instagram, Just A Better Instagram Enlarge this image toggle caption Rick Bowmer/AP Rick Bowmer/AP Social media companies prohibit kids under 13 from signing up because of federal privacy law. Parents say struggles with social apps start at early age Parents say Zuckerberg is right: many kids are going on social media, despite the …

TikTok tightens privacy features for younger users
3 years, 11 months ago

TikTok tightens privacy features for younger users

Associated Press  

A month after federal regulators ordered it to disclose how its practices affect children and teenagers, TikTok is tightening its privacy practices for the under-18 crowd. For users aged 16 or 17, the default setting to let people download the videos they created will now be “off,” rather than “on.” TikTok is also blocking users’ ability to download videos created …

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