TikTok Tries User Age-Based Content Restrictions

JAKARTA - TikTok is trying to find a way to rate and limit content based on age to prevent adult content from reaching teenage users of its short video app.

TikTok, which has exploded in popularity among teens around the world in recent years, said it was running a small test of how adult-rated content could be restricted from accounts belonging to younger users, either by users or their parents and guardians.

The company, which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, said it was drawing on the types of content rating standards already used for movies and games. They will be testing ways for creators in the app to determine if they want their content to be seen only by an older audience or all ages.

As reported by Reuters, social media platforms have been closely monitored for their approach to the well-being and safety of younger users. Meta Platforms Inc, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has been criticized by lawmakers in the US for its plans to introduce a version of Instagram for children.

Last year, a coalition of state attorneys general opened an investigation into Meta for promoting Instagram to children despite the potential dangers, after leaked internal documents raised questions about the company's research on Instagram's effects on the mental health of teen users. Read more

TikTok, which has been criticized for posts promoting eating disorders, has now banned such content. They said in a blog post on Tuesday that they would begin removing posts promoting wider eating disorder content as well.

"We understand that people can struggle with unhealthy eating patterns and behaviors without having an eating disorder diagnosis," he said in the post. "Our goal was to recognize more symptoms, such as excessive exercise or short-term fasting, which are often signs of a potential problem that is under-recognized."