The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has announced that it is looking specifically into how the social media platform uses the data of 13 to 17-year-olds to then push content to them.
It’s not the first time that TikTok’s negative impact on children has been questioned, but this time it is the UK that is launching a major investigation.
This case comes not only as TikTok fights for its survival in the US, but as an increasing number of countries scrutinize what content children are seeing on the platform, the addictive nature of that content, and what part the company itself is playing in this.
What Is the Investigation?
According to BBC News, this “major investigation” will look at how TikTok’s data collection practices impact children, from the amount of time they spend on the platform to the potential danger of the data on them being leaked.
The data practices will be studied in relation to the UK’s data protection laws, and the Children’s Code. Both of these together form a set of rules dictating how much data companies can collect on children and how they can process it.
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The investigation is also turning its attention to Reddit and Imgur – and will look at whether their age verification measures are being used and enforced.
John Edwards, the Information Commissioner, told the news service that he would not “pre-judge how we might look at the Imgur and Reddit matters” but did suggest that if companies use “self-declaration” as their means to stop children accessing unsuitable content, that “is probably not going to cut it.”
TikTok Defends Itself
TikTok, which is owned by Chinese outfit, ByteDance, has been fervent in its response and says that it uses “strict and comprehensive measures that protect the privacy and safety of teens” for its content recommendation systems.
However, the company is also facing action in several other countries over the welfare of its youngest account owners. This is despite it announcing it will boot those under thirteen off the platform and is launching restrictions for those under eighteen, including blocking “beauty filters.”
In the US, 14 attorneys general have launched a lawsuit against the platform for designing elements of the app to “prey upon young people’s unique psychological vulnerabilities and drive young people to spend excessive amounts of time” on the platform.
Aussie Rules
However, it is Australia that has taken the most dramatic stance and is the first country in the world to ban social media apps for anyone under sixteen. The authorities are now trialing “age-assurance technology” but this will be completed in the coming months, says The Guardian.
However, TikTok is not taking the ban well and has lashed out about the details, according to Bloomberg. In particular, it has taken issue with the fact that YouTube has been excluded from the crackdown as “a health and education service.”
TikTok says that this is “illogical, anti-competitive and short sighted” in a submission to Australia’s Department of Communications. It added that YouTube’s value as an education resource doesn’t pass “even the most cursory of closer examinations.”
Meta and Snapchat-operator, Snap Inc, are also calling for YouTube’s exclusion to be reversed.
