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TikTok rolls out parental control tools after children violation storm
TikTok found itself in the eye of a storm in Kenya a fortnight ago after a damning report by the BBC alleged that the platform was profiting from sexual livestreams performed by teens as young as 15 in the country.
Popular social media platform TikTok has rolled out new parental control tools as part of efforts aimed at enhancing child safety on the app, weeks after a damning report alleging child sexual violations on the platform went viral.
The TikTok team in Kenya says the updates will enhance family pairing by giving parents more oversight while encouraging mindful screen time among younger users.
Among the new tools include time away scheduling which will allow parents to set custom screen-fee periods during times such as school hours or bedtime, while the expanded family visibility feature will allow parents to view who their children follow and who follows them, including the ability to block certain accounts.
Additionally, the platform has activated proactive reporting alerts to parents such that when a child reports a video for potentially violating TikTok’s rules, they can choose to notify a trusted adult even if family pairing is not enabled.
“This feature is designed to encourage ongoing conversations between teens and their families about their TikTok experience,” said the multinational.
There’s also a new wind-down feature that’s designed to encourage children to log off at night, with the firm saying underage users on the platform after 10 pm will see a full-screen reminder with calming music. If ignored, a second, harder-to-dismiss prompt will follow.
“These new updates are part of our ongoing commitment to empowering families with the tools they need to foster healthy digital habits,” it noted.
TikTok found itself in the eye of a storm in Kenya a fortnight ago after a damning report by the BBC alleged that the platform was profiting from sexual livestreams performed by teens as young as 15 in the country.
Reacting to the British broadcaster’s exposé, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) launched a formal inquiry and directed TikTok to pull down all sexual content involving minors from the platform, including on livestream.
The CA, mandated to regulate Kenya’s information and communications industry, also ordered TikTok to explain how offensive content can bypass its content moderation mechanisms, in addition to presenting a plan on how it intends to enhance the established mechanisms to strengthen child protection.
In its report, the BBC said it had spoken to three women in Kenya who said they began sexual livestreaming as teenagers, adding that they used TikTok to openly advertise and negotiate payment for more explicit content that would be sent via other messaging platforms.
The media firm also revealed that while TikTok bans solicitation, moderators on the platform admitted that the social app knows it takes place and takes a cut of about 70 percent of all livestream transactions.
According to CA, the allegations suggested that significant gaps remain in TikTok’s enforcement of its own policies against solicitation and exploitation.
“These allegations raise serious issues regarding the exploitation of vulnerable individuals, including children, and the adequacy of content moderation on digital platforms operating within Kenya,” said CA at the time.
