TikTok blocks access to children under the age of 13. The platform will take measures to block access to users under the age of 13 and will evaluate the use of AI systems to verify age. In addition to launching an information campaign to spread awareness among parents and children. This is what was reported by the video sharing platform guaranteeing the protection of personal data, after the blocking procedure imposed by the authority in recent days. In any case, the authority reserved the right to verify the effectiveness of the announced procedures. The privacy guarantor writes it in a note stating that starting February 9, fulfilling the guarantor’s requests, TikTok will ban all Italian users and will ask for the birthdate again before continuing to use the app.
Once you select a user under 13, the note makes clear, their account will be removed. In order to identify users under the age of 13 with a reasonable degree of certainty, after this first verification, the company undertook to further evaluate the use of AI systems. Because identifying these solutions requires a balance between the need for careful checks and the right to data protection for minors, the company has pledged to start with the Privacy Authority of Ireland – the country where the platform has set up its main factory – a discussion about the use of AI for age verification purposes.
After the guarantor intervened, as of January 25, TikTok expected to apply directly in an app A button that allows users to quickly and easily report other users who appear to be under the age of 13. All this, the guarantor explains, will add to the existing measures. TikTok has also committed to double the number of moderators in Italian for content on the platform.
Moreover, the guarantor continues to note, starting February 4 TikTok will launch an informational campaign on the app and on other channels. On the app, the company will send push notifications to users before banning them, and it will notify them of the requirement to enter the age. Banners will also be posted to provide links with information about security tools and how to change your profile settings from ‘public’ to ‘private’. The campaign on the web and in publications will specifically target parents, and confirm, among other things, the maximum age of registration on the platform. Finally, for the benefit of younger users, TikTok will improve the privacy notice summary on the app for users under the age of 18, in order to explain the types of data it collects and how to process it in an accessible and engaging way. .
In order to strengthen protection measures against children, the Privacy Guarantor will launch an awareness campaign on national television, in cooperation with Telefono Azzurro, with the aim of inviting parents to play an effective supervisory role. And special attention to children. They will be required to specify their age in order to access TikTok.
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