TikTok to Introduce Parental Control Tool to Restrict Teen Access to Controversial Content

Short-form video app TikTok announced on March 1 that it is working on a way for parents to prevent their teens from seeing content on the platform that contains specific words or hashtags deemed harmful.

According to Reuters, the move comes as the app's parent company, ByteDance, is being scrutinized more closely worldwide because of its close ties to the Chinese government and how it handles user data.

Because of security concerns, TikTok has also been banned on government-owned phones in the US, Canada, and other countries.

TikTok Develops Parental Control Features

TikTok says in a blog post that the parental control feature is still in the early stages of development and that the app will work with concerned organizations to refine the tool.

TikTok also introduced new features that will help users limit their time on the app. Users under 18 will automatically be limited to one hour of TikTok use per day, and parents can set different limits for their teens depending on the day of the week.

TikTok's new parental control tool also aims to protect teens from inappropriate content, which has previously been raised.

In Sept. 2021, Tech Times reported that an investigation revealed that TikTok's algorithm allowed teenagers to see explicit content. The study has revealed how the platform has allowed bots to crawl videos for the "For You" tab.

After two years, the company is taking steps to help users manage their time on the app and to assist parents in safeguarding their children's consumed content.

TikTok will now add a screen time limit to all accounts belonging to users under 18, which will be set to 60 minutes per day by default. If the 60-minute time limit is reached, the feature will prompt teens to enter a passcode to continue watching, necessitating an active decision to extend that time.

For users under the age of 13, the daily screen time limit will also be set to 60 minutes, and a parent or guardian will need to set or enter a passcode to enable an additional 30 minutes of viewing time. Teens who spend over 100 minutes daily on TikTok will also be prompted to select a daily screen time limit.

In addition, TikTok will send every teen account a weekly mail with a summary of their screen time.

More About TikTok's Parental Controls Feature

TikTok has previously been scrutinized for not doing enough to protect young users from inappropriate content. TikTok now has streamlined existing safety settings for teen accounts to address this concern.

For example, 13- to 15-year-olds have their accounts set to private by default, allowing them to make informed decisions regarding what they share, when, and with whom.

Community members must be at least 18 years old to host a LIVE and at least 16 years old to use direct messaging.

Additionally, TikTok is bringing three new features to Family Pairing to facilitate conversations regarding digital well-being. These features include customizable daily screen time limits, a screen time dashboard, and notifications that can be muted.

Caregivers can use Family Pairing to customize their teen's daily screen time limit, including selecting different time limits for each day of the week.

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