TikTok to roll out enhanced age checks as social media ban pressure grows
TikTok is preparing to roll out enhanced age verification checks for users across Europe in a bid to restrict accounts created by people under the age of 13.
The social media giant said its new technology can “predict” whether an account belongs to a child under 13 using profile information, posted videos and “other behavior on the platform.” The accounts will then be flagged to a human moderator, who will decide whether to ban them.
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer faces growing pressure to introduce an Australian-style social media ban for under-16s. A group of more than 60 Labor MPs wrote to the prime minister on Sunday, accusing “successive governments” of “doing too little to protect young people from unregulated, addictive social media platforms” and urging him to impose a blanket ban.
The Prime Minister did not rule out a ban, saying, “We need to better protect children from social media,” and added: “All options are on the table.”
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch also supported the measures, saying she would implement them if her party wins the next election.
But some leading online safety and children’s charities have opposed a blanket ban, warning that it could create a “false sense of security” that could lead children and predators to turn to other, less regulated parts of the internet.
TikTok said in a statement that the latest age restriction would be rolled out “in the coming weeks” and came after the pilot plan led to the removal of “thousands of additional underage accounts”.
He added that the new technology would be used “in a way that protects privacy” and would only be used to decide whether to flag an account for a real moderator.
The new measures join existing age restrictions and will “support” TikTok’s moderation teams in enforcing a minimum age of 13.
“Protecting people’s privacy has been at the heart of our work on this project,” he said. “By integrating data protection principles into the design of the technology from the outset, it ensures that an estimate of the likelihood that a person is under 13 is not used for purposes other than deciding whether an account should be sent to human moderators and monitoring and improving the technology.”
TikTok added that it “consulted extensively” with the Data Protection Commission (DPC) to comply with Europe’s high data protection standards, and that users in Europe will receive a notification to inform them of the new technology.
The video-sharing app said users whose accounts are flagged as underage can use measures such as facial age recognition, credit card authorization and ID checks to appeal the decision.
“As TikTok, we are committed to keeping children under 13 off our platform, providing young people with age-appropriate experiences, and continuing to evaluate and implement a range of solutions,” he said in a statement.
“We believe a multi-layered approach to age assurance – an approach that uses multiple techniques – is important to protect young people and support security by design principles.”
