By Bahle Gama
TikTok has set a screen time for every account held by a user under 18. There will be a default 60-minute daily screen time in the coming weeks.
The changes arrive during a period in which there are growing concerns among different governments about the app’s security and ability to alter its algorithm to push certain posts.
According to Aljazeera, the update also mirrors gaming rules imposed on minors in China, where TikTok’s parent company ByteDance was formerly based.
ByteDance now says it has no headquarters because it is a global business and that instead, it has leaders in Singapore, New York, and elsewhere managing its business.
In 2021, Chinese authorities reportedly issued new rules that let minors play online games for only an hour a day and only on Fridays, weekends, and public holidays, an effort to curb internet addiction.
In a blog post, Head of Trust and Safety at TikTok Cormac Keenan said that when the 60-minute limit is reached, minors will be prompted to enter a passcode and make an “active decision” to keep watching.
“For accounts where the user is under the age of 13, a parent or guardian will have to set or enter an existing passcode to allow 30 minutes of extra viewing time once the initial 60-minute limit is reached,” he said.
He elaborated that TikTok came up with the 60-minute threshold by consulting academic research and experts from the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital.
“There have long been concerns about what minors are exposed to on social media and the potential harm it might do,” he said.
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A report released late last year suggested that TikTok’s algorithms are promoting videos about self-harm and eating disorders to vulnerable teens. Instagram, which is owned by Facebook parent Meta, has also faced similar accusations.
Social media algorithms are reported to work by identifying topics and content of interest to a user, who is then sent more of the same as a way to maximize their time on the site.
However, social media critics say the same algorithms that promote content about a particular sports team, hobby or dance craze can send users down a rabbit hole of harmful content.
TikTok also said that it will also begin prompting teens to set a daily screen time limit if they opt out of the 60-minute default. The company will send weekly inbox notifications to teen accounts with a screen time recap.
Keenan said some of TikTok’s existing safety features for teen accounts include having accounts set to private by default for those between the ages of 13 and 15 and providing direct messaging availability only to those accounts where the user is 16 or older.
