TikTok to Implement New Age Verification Technology Amid Growing Calls for Youth Social Media Ban

TikTok is set to roll out new age verification technology across the European Union in the coming weeks, coinciding with increasing demands for a social media ban for users under the age of 16 in various countries, including the UK. The ByteDance-owned platform, along with other popular social media sites like YouTube, is facing mounting pressure to better identify and remove accounts belonging to children. This new system, which has been in a quiet pilot phase in the EU over the past year, analyzes profile information, posted videos, and behavioral signals to predict whether an account may belong to a user under 13. Accounts flagged by this system are set to be reviewed by specialized moderators rather than automatically banned, potentially resulting in their removal after assessment. During the UK pilot of the technology, thousands of accounts were taken down. In December 2022, Australia implemented a social media ban for individuals under 16, and recent reports reveal that over 4.7 million accounts have been removed across ten platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snap, and Facebook, since the ban took effect. This has led to a broader conversation about the responsibilities social media platforms have in verifying user ages in compliance with data protection standards, particularly in Europe. UK opposition leader Keir Starmer expressed his openness to a potential ban on social media for young people, voicing concerns about the significant amount of screen time among children and teenagers. Reports of five-year-olds spending excessive hours in front of screens and the perceived negative impact of social media on those under 16 have sparked alarm for many lawmakers. Starmer has previously hesitated on a blanket ban, arguing that such measures would be hard to enforce and might inadvertently lead teenagers to more dangerous online spaces, such as the dark web. Calls for increased parental rights concerning access to deceased children’s social media accounts were highlighted by Ellen Roome, whose 14-year-old son tragically lost his life after participating in an online challenge. The European Parliament is urging for stricter age restrictions on social media platforms, while Denmark aims to ban social media altogether for individuals under 15. According to TikTok, the newly developed technology is designed specifically to meet the EU's regulatory requirements. The company has collaborated with Ireland's Data Protection Commission, the lead privacy regulator in the EU, during the development process. Reports from earlier this year revealed that moderators were instructed to permit under-13 users on the platform if they claimed their parents were supervising their accounts. As discussions around the regulation of social media intensify, TikTok's new measures come at a crucial moment, sparking ongoing debates about the safety and well-being of young users online. Related Sources: • Source 1 • Source 2