TikTok is setting daily usage caps for minors.
The video-sharing app is introducing a passcode for under 18s. They will have to enter the code view more content on the site after an hour.
The app, which is owned and operated by Chinese tech company ByteDance, is aimed at assisting users to “stay in control” of their time on the platform.
ByteDance brought in the development after introducing a notification to remind teenagers to take a break from scrolling, which they reported allowed them to “increase the use of our screen time tools by 234%”.
Under TikTok’s terms and conditions, those who use the app must be 13 or over, and with the new feature, those under 18 will get a weekly “recap of their screen time”.
The head of trust and safety at TikTok, Cormac Keenan said: “While there’s no collectively endorsed position on the ‘right’ amount of screen time, or even the impact of screen time more broadly, we consulted the current academic research and experts from the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children's Hospital in choosing this limit.”
Recently, the Canadian government became the latest in a string of international bodies to ban federal workers' devices, following in the footsteps of the US and the European Commission amid concerns – which ByteDance denies – of how they handle users’ personal data.
Mona Fortier, the president of Canada’s Treasury Board said: “On a mobile device, TikTok’s data-collection methods provide considerable access to the contents of the phone. While the risks of using this application are clear, we have no evidence at this point that government information has been compromised.”
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