TikTok Removes 7 Million Accounts Owned By Under-13s
TikTok has removed around 7 million accounts that have been suspected to be owned by under-13s in the first few months of this year. They also got a very keen eye on the content that does not follow community guidelines.
In the first month of this year, they introduced new regulations that prevent users under the age of 16 to live stream or chat privately with other accounts, while also making their account automatically private until they are 16.
13 is the minimum age to use most social networks. Children under the age of 13 should not be allowed on social media because it can be dangerous and it can have a really negative impact on their mental health and how they perceive the world. Many people on apps like TikTok can post content online that shows a distorted way of life and fake information.
61 million videos were removed by TikTok for breaking the rules of the app, 11 million accounts were removed for also breaking the app's rules and almost 2 million ads were rejected to be published on the app. TikTok is definitely doing lots of thorough filtering in the app's content to improve user's safety.
Unfortunately, as we all know there are people with bad intentions taking advantage of innocent children online, who don't know the dangers and risks of talking to strangers online. When TikTok enabled online chatting, people claimed to be younger to talk to children that don’t know the true motives of the person they are talking to. So, since January this year, the new measure that prevents accounts under the age of 16 to chat online is a great feature to protect those who are underaged. They also can't live stream, which helps stop those who send undesirable messages and to help protect private information about the user.
The most recent generation is the most vulnerable online because as social media is becoming more and more popular, more children are using it and there are more dangers that come with it. When TikTok was called “Musical.ly'' many children under the age of 13 used it, the content was mainly people doing dances or lip syncs to music and there was barely any disturbing content that could be found on the app and chatting was not an option to start with, that came later on just before it became TikTok.
Now that most teenagers are using it and many adults too, TikTok has become one of the largest social networks in the world and people share all kinds of content good and bad ad the more content is uploaded the more difficult is to filter it fast enough.
Surveys show that ninety percent of teens ages 13-17 have used social media. Seventy-five percent report having at least one active social media profile, and 51% report visiting a social media site at least daily.
The issue with age is a major issue. It is so simple to lie about it and no one can prove that you are lying. This allows anyone of any age to have access to the app. This is the issue with many social networks because the more proof they ask for the more people is put off using it and if they don't take all that security measures then they can't make it safe.
Ofcom's Children and Parents Media Use and Attitudes report found that 46% of 11-year-olds, 51% of 12-year-olds and 28% of 10-year-olds now have a social media profile.
Parental awareness of the age limit was low - with about eight in 10 of those parents whose children use Instagram or Snapchat unaware of the restrictions.
More than four in 10 said they would allow their child to use social media ahead of them reaching the minimum age required.
Tik Tok is doing all it can to protect the safety of its users, so they say, but many people are worried about what exactly is being done with users' private information and who exactly has access to all this information. This has raised many questions and many angry parents wanting answers from the app representatives, that they are not receiving. In the end, the age at which children should be allowed on any social media platform should usually be decided by their parents, but many adults don't know the dangers of social media, therefore, more awareness of social media's dangers should be spread, but we still would like to think that our safety is one of the app's top priorities.
A 15 years old Social Media Enthusiast, writer, actress, listens to 90s dance music, a fan of comedy shows, traveling abroad and ice cream.
TikTok Removes 7 Million Accounts Owned By Under-13s
Reviewed by Ale VP
on
Saturday, July 10, 2021
Rating:
Reviewed by Ale VP
on
Saturday, July 10, 2021
Rating:
Ale VP
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