TikTok is implementing age restrictions on some beauty filters to address concerns about their impact on the mental health of its teenage users.
The changes, which will roll out in the coming weeks, include preventing certain filters from being used by people under 18 and expanding filter descriptions to clarify what the filters adjust when applied.
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The restrictions will not apply to filters that are overtly humorous, such as adding animal ears or excessively changing features. The announcement was made at TikTok’s European Safety Forum in Dublin and published on TikTok’s European news feed, although it is unclear whether these updates will roll out globally.
The changes are being introduced in response to a report by the nonprofit organization Internet Matters, which found that beauty filters contribute to a distorted perception of the world, where perfected images become the norm.
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Children often cannot tell when images have been altered and face significant social pressure to look a certain way online.
New resources will also be introduced in 13 European countries in the coming weeks, connecting users reporting suicide, self-harm, hate and harassment content to relevant local helplines. According to TikTok, the platform now has over 175 million monthly active users in Europe.
It is also exploring new machine learning to detect accounts created by users under 13, the minimum age limit for using the platform.
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Deleted users will be able to appeal if they believe a mistake was made, while the company removes around six million accounts worldwide each year that do not meet its minimum age requirements.
Source: theverge
