TikTok to filter out ‘mature or complex’ videos amid child safety

TikTok replied something was rolling out some fresh feature designed up to prevent underage users via viewing videos with “mature or complex themes” amid growing scrutiny made from the popular video app’s effect. on children.

A transfer comes like TikTok faces wrongful death lawsuits filed earlier said month among California via parents which person alleged theirs eight- along with nine-year-old children died later trying for recreate “blackout challenge” videos. who had occurred served in order to them via TikTok.

In a effort toward protect underage users via “content with obviously mature themes,” TikTok is introducing one rating metric that any company says is similar in order to systems used in each film, television, and video game industries.

TikTok shall begin introducing “maturity scores” in the coming weeks, the company declared inside one blog post.

“When we detect which single video contains mature or complex themes, for example fictionalized scenes such could be too scary either intense for younger audiences, a maturity score shall be assigned to certain video to assist prevent the aforementioned at a lower level 18 years of viewing something on the TikTok experience,” TikTok Chief Trust as well as Safety Officer Cormac Keenan declared within single blog post.

Within addition up to certain Maturity Score feature, TikTok is introducing different tool for entire users who testament allow users to manually block videos with certain words either hashtags since their “Following” along with “For You” feeds.

For example, vegan users be capable block dairy alternatively meat recipe videos, Keenan said.

Certain review made from TikTok, which is owned near to Beijing-based ByteDance, goes adequately beyond a “breakdown challenge”.

Us lawmakers hold raised concerns which TikTok is streaming videos glorifying eating disorders and self-harm in order to children with such conditions. They too questioned whether TikTok shared data with any Chinese government, some practice certain company denied.

Additionally, consumer protection advocates possess raised concerns about the spread from misleading advertisements for sketchy payday loans on TikTok, as Certain Post exclusively reported amid June. Following reports out of A Post, TikTok banned several ads.