TikTok to limit default screen time to 60 minutes a day for teenagers
Video-sharing app TikTok will set a default 60-minute daily screen time limit for users under the age of 18 in the coming weeks.
Once the 60-minute limit is reached, users will be prompted to enter a passcode and make an “active decision” to keep watching, Cormac Keenan, head of trust and safety at TikTok said in a blog post on Wednesday.
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.
The new features will apply to every user under the age of 18, including those in the UK.
It comes amid growing concerns among different governments about the app's security and ability to alter its algorithm to push certain posts.
The update also mirrors gaming rules imposed on minors in China, where TikTok's parent company ByteDance is based.
In 2021, Chinese authorities issued new rules that barred minors from playing online games for only an hour a day and only on Fridays, weekends and public holidays in an effort to curb internet addiction.
TikTok said it 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.
A report from the Centre for Countering Digital Hate released late last year suggested that TikTok’s algorithms are promoting videos about self-harm and eating disorders. Instagram, which is owned by Facebook parent Meta, has also faced similar accusations.
Social media algorithms work by identifying topics and content of interest to a user, who is then sent more of the same as a way to maximise their time on the site.
But 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.
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As part of the announcement on screen time limits for teenagers, TikTok said 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.
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.
TikTok announced a number of changes for all users, including the ability to set customised screen time limits for each day of the week and allowing users to set a schedule to mute notifications.
The company is also launching a sleep reminder to help people plan when they want to be offline at night. For the sleep feature, users will be able to set a time and when the time arrives, a pop-up will remind the user that it's time to log off.
Alongside worries over how much time some young people are spending on the app, there are growing concerns about the app around the world.
The European Parliament, the European Commission and the EU Council have banned TikTok from being installed on official devices. That follows similar actions taken by the US federal government, Congress and more than half of the 50 US states. Canada has also banned it from government devices. House republicans in the US have introduced a bill that will give President Joe Biden the ability to ban the app nationwide, which has faced opposition from some civil liberties organisations who argue such a move would be unconstitutional.
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