According to the EU, TikTok is still not doing enough to safeguard children. – TikTok’s existing account settings don’t adhere to the child safety requirements mandated by the Digital Services Act (DSA), according to the European Commission, which has accused the platform of failing to adequately protect kids. Although the results are preliminary, TikTok might be fined up to 6% of its yearly worldwide revenue if they are upheld.
Why TikTok isn’t doing enough, according to the EU
The Commission claims that children can use TikTok to make their accounts public, which makes their content accessible to everyone, even those without a TikTok account. Additionally, content uploaded by older teens (ages 16 and 17) may still be suggested to other users via the For You stream, according to regulators, raising the possibility of unwelcome interaction, cyberbullying, or exploitation.
The Commission contends that rather than requiring users to actively adjust their settings, additional privacy protections for children ought to be activated by default. Additionally, it suggests that information from minors’ public accounts should not show up in the For You stream for other users and should only be displayed to authorized TikTok followers rather than to a wider audience.
Protecting kids online should never be optional, according to EU Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy Henna Virkkunen. She said that platforms should incorporate child safety into their services by default rather than providing it as an opt-in function.
What was stated on TikTok
TikTok has responded to the results by claiming that it already provides more than 50 privacy and safety safeguards for teenagers and that it shares the Commission’s objective of safeguarding young users. According to Reuters, the business states that younger minors cannot use direct messaging and that their content is not suggested in the For You stream, while accounts for individuals under the age of eighteen are by default private. Before making a final decision, TikTok said it will examine the Commission’s conclusions and keep collaborating with regulators.
TikTok now has the chance to formally respond before the EU determines whether the corporation has breached the DSA, as the Commission’s announcement represents preliminary conclusions. Regulators may issue a non-compliance determination and impose fines if they are not persuaded. As European authorities continue to tighten their regulation of how big social media companies protect younger users online, the investigation is one of several ongoing DSA examinations into TikTok.
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