TikTok is imposing age restrictions on some of its beauty filters to address concerns about how they affect the mental health of its teenage users. Some of the changes rolling out “in the coming weeks” include preventing those under 18 from using certain appearance-altering effects and expanding filter descriptions to specify what filters adjust when applied.
He press release says that age restrictions will not apply to filter effects that are “designed to be obvious and funny,” such as adding animal ears or comically exaggerating certain features. The change is likely aimed at addressing beautifying effects like Bold Glamour, which give users smoother skin, longer eyelashes, and slimmer faces, which can be harder to spot.
As the announcement was made at the TikTok European Security Forum in Dublin and posted to TikTok's European newsroom, it is unclear if these updates will be rolled out globally. We've asked TikTok to clarify where the new restrictions will apply.
The changes are made in response to a report from the child safety online nonprofit organization Internet Matterswhich found that “beautification filters contributed to a distorted worldview in which perfected images are normalized.” According to the report, children were often unable to tell when images had been altered and faced “significant social pressure” to look a certain way online.
New resources will also be introduced in 13 unspecified European countries “in the coming weeks” that will connect users who report content about suicide, self-harm, hate and harassment with relevant local helplines. According to TikTok, the platform now has more than 175 million monthly active users in Europe.
“There is no finish line when it comes to safety and security, and we will continue to learn from our community, partner with experts and strive to do even better.” Christine Grahn, head of European public policy at TikTok, said on LinkedIn. “If our users don't feel safe, they won't bring their true selves to TikTok and the platform simply won't be the same.”
TikTok is also exploring new machine learning technologies that can detect accounts created by users under 13, the minimum age allowed to use the platform. The company says users who have their accounts removed will be able to appeal “if they believe we made a mistake” and that it removes about six million accounts worldwide each year that don't meet minimum age requirements.
