TikTok is facing several questions regarding protections for young users following a controversial investigation by The Guardian. The investigation revealed that moderators were instructed to allow children under the age of 13 to remain on the platform if they claimed their accounts were supervised by their parents. In one instance noted by The Guardian, a user who stated they were 12 years old in their bio (below the 13-year minimum) was permitted to stay on the platform because their profile mentioned it was managed by their parents.
When a TikTok quality analyst, responsible for inquiries related to video content moderation, was asked if the user's account should be banned, they stated that if the bio indicated parental oversight, moderators might allow the account to stay. A message was sent in a group chat with over 70 moderators, who review content primarily from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It was also alleged that moderators were informed in meetings that if a parent appeared in the background of a video, or if the bio indicated that the account was parent-managed, those accounts could remain on the platform.
One TikTok employee mentioned that it is "too easy to avoid being banned for being underage. Once a child realizes this works, they will tell their friends.” TikTok stated that it is incorrect to claim that it allows children under 13 to access the platform if they mention in their bio that an adult manages their account. A company spokesperson said, "These allegations about TikTok's policies are false or based on misunderstanding, while The Guardian did not provide us with enough information regarding its other claims for us to investigate. Our community guidelines apply equally to all content on TikTok, and we do not allow those under 13 to access our platform."
TikTok asserts on its website that it is "deeply committed to ensuring that TikTok is a safe and positive experience for individuals under 18. You must be 13 years old or older to have an account." TikTok also adds that all users must go through a mandatory age gate to sign up for an account, stating that between April and June of this year alone, it removed over 18 million suspected underage accounts globally. TikTok has faced disputes with regulators over its handling of accounts for users under 18. In September, the Irish data regulator imposed a €345 million fine for breaching EU data law in its handling of children's accounts, including failing to protect content from public exposure. In April, the UK's data regulator fined TikTok £12.7 million for allegedly misusing data of children under 13. TikTok does not mention waiving parental supervision in its community guidelines.
The Guardian was investigating the TikTok app amid ongoing concerns about how it manages over a billion users worldwide, having seen internal communications likely to raise new questions about how the application is monitored.
