TikTok Under Fire as EU Accuses Platform of Failing to Protect Children Online
The European Union has stepped up its child protection efforts online, following accusations that TikTok is not doing enough to protect children on its app. Some of the account settings might lead to risks for minors, such as cyberbullying, unwanted contact and predatory behaviour, the EU said.
According to the European Commission’s initial conclusions, some children’s accounts and content can be more visible than they should be on TikTok, posing potential risks to safety. Officials said that privacy protections for children should be automatic and not have to be turned on by the young user.
The investigation was opened under the EU’s Digital Services Act, which calls for greater measures to protect children online. The EU has requested TikTok to change its settings to ensure that minors’ accounts are only visible to those they have approved.
The development follows European policymakers who are mulling tougher age limits for social media. New rules are anticipated later this year that will ban children under 13 from social media platforms and the EU is also developing an age verification system to assist platforms in verifying users’ ages.
The rise in child protection issues has made it more important than ever to have a digital environment that puts children’s rights, privacy and wellbeing first, child protection advocates say. They are concerned that children could be exposed to online harms that have a negative impact on their emotional health, safety and development unless they are adequately protected.
TikTok has stated that it will continue to prioritize the safety and privacy of young users and emphasized its existing privacy and safety measures for teen accounts. But the EU’s move is a sign of growing pressure on tech firms to integrate child protection into the platform design, not just an add-on.
