The world of social media is facing a growing concern over the age of its users. With younger and younger people joining platforms like TikTok, lawmakers are scrambling to come up with effective solutions to keep children safe online.
TikTok's latest move has been hailed as a compromise between regulatory pressure and user privacy concerns. The company has implemented an age-detection system across Europe that uses a combination of profile data, content analysis, and behavioral signals to identify accounts belonging to minors under 13. Unlike automatic bans, this new system flags suspicious accounts for human moderators to review.
However, experts say that even with the best intentions, TikTok's strategy still requires social platforms to surveil users more closely than before. "This is a fancy way of saying that TikTok will be surveilling its users' activities and making inferences about them," says law professor Eric Goldman. While it may not automatically ban underage users, the increased surveillance raises concerns about digital privacy.
Goldman also warns that age verification mandates can have unintended consequences. "Users probably aren't thrilled about this extra surveillance, and any false positives—like incorrectly identifying an adult as a child—will have potentially major consequences for the wrongly identified user." The lack of standardization in age-verification methods across platforms also poses scalability issues.
Data & Society's director of research Alice Marwick agrees that while TikTok's new approach may seem marginally better than automatic bans, it still requires closer surveillance. "This will inevitably expand systematic data collection, creating new privacy risks without any clear evidence that it improves youth safety."
Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, governments are taking a more drastic approach to online child safety. Australia has banned social media for children under 16, and the European Parliament is advocating for mandatory age limits on online platforms.
The debate around online child safety raises broader questions about whether technology alone can resolve what is fundamentally a policy and societal challenge. Advocacy groups in Canada are calling for the creation of a dedicated regulatory body to address online harms affecting young people.
As TikTok's strategy becomes the new norm, it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to keep children safe online. One thing is certain, however: policymakers must tread carefully when balancing regulation with user privacy concerns. The future of social media depends on it.
TikTok's latest move has been hailed as a compromise between regulatory pressure and user privacy concerns. The company has implemented an age-detection system across Europe that uses a combination of profile data, content analysis, and behavioral signals to identify accounts belonging to minors under 13. Unlike automatic bans, this new system flags suspicious accounts for human moderators to review.
However, experts say that even with the best intentions, TikTok's strategy still requires social platforms to surveil users more closely than before. "This is a fancy way of saying that TikTok will be surveilling its users' activities and making inferences about them," says law professor Eric Goldman. While it may not automatically ban underage users, the increased surveillance raises concerns about digital privacy.
Goldman also warns that age verification mandates can have unintended consequences. "Users probably aren't thrilled about this extra surveillance, and any false positives—like incorrectly identifying an adult as a child—will have potentially major consequences for the wrongly identified user." The lack of standardization in age-verification methods across platforms also poses scalability issues.
Data & Society's director of research Alice Marwick agrees that while TikTok's new approach may seem marginally better than automatic bans, it still requires closer surveillance. "This will inevitably expand systematic data collection, creating new privacy risks without any clear evidence that it improves youth safety."
Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, governments are taking a more drastic approach to online child safety. Australia has banned social media for children under 16, and the European Parliament is advocating for mandatory age limits on online platforms.
The debate around online child safety raises broader questions about whether technology alone can resolve what is fundamentally a policy and societal challenge. Advocacy groups in Canada are calling for the creation of a dedicated regulatory body to address online harms affecting young people.
As TikTok's strategy becomes the new norm, it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to keep children safe online. One thing is certain, however: policymakers must tread carefully when balancing regulation with user privacy concerns. The future of social media depends on it.
tiktok's move feels like a bandaid solution, doesn't solve the root issue 
. age verification should be more robust, not just flagging for human mods to review 
. also, why not implement AI that can detect when users are being exploited online? 
. governments need to step in with stricter regulations & create a regulatory body to handle online child safety 
. the current approach is too vague & relies on platforms like tiktok making it happen...but what if they don't comply? 
.
... like, what's the point of even having a "safe" space online when we're just sharing our lives with thousands of strangers 
? and now they're relying on algorithms to figure out who's a kid and who's not 
. i wish policymakers would focus more on promoting digital literacy and critical thinking skills instead of just trying to regulate our online behavior 
. What really bothers me is that there's no standardization when it comes to age verification methods, so I'm worried about false positives and the potential harm they can cause 
. We need more than just tech solutions to tackle online child safety - we need some real policy changes 
.
. experts got some valid points that more strict age verification needed 
. can't just rely on tech companies to solve online safety concerns 
! I mean, think about it, if they're flagging accounts for human moderators to review, that's basically just a fancy way of saying they'll be watching what you post and comment on all the time 
. It's like, can't we just have some freedom online without being constantly surveilled? 
I hope they figure out a way to make this system work without compromising our digital privacy too much 
. It's just gonna lead to more problems than solutions 
. Or maybe a whole new regulatory body in Canada 
. TikTok can't do it alone 
. We gotta work together to keep kids safe online 
but seriously, this whole thing highlights how we need better regulations around data collection and online safety. It's not just about keeping kids safe, it's about respecting people's digital privacy too 
. They're gonna start monitoring our every move, analyzing our likes and comments... what's next? Facial recognition? It's all about control, you know? And don't even get me started on the "false positives" - what if they mistake a teenager for a child just because they're posting some harmless content? 
. We need to keep our guard up and question everything that comes out of these giant tech corporations. Mark my words...
... and what's with the age limit of 13? 
What do you guys think should be done about this? Should it just be left up to the platforms or does the government need to step in? 
it feels like they're just gonna be watching our every move online 
and what about all the false positives? 
. i'm not saying tiktok's strategy is bad or anything, but we need to make sure we're balancing regulation with user safety concerns 
. maybe instead of just relying on age verification, we should be having more open conversations about online safety and digital literacy 
. anyway, it'll be interesting to see how this all plays out 
. I guess the question is, is this just a Band-Aid on a bigger problem? 
. If we're gonna keep kids safe online, we need to make sure that these systems are accurate and not just giving everyone a hard time about their age 
?
It's time for policymakers to get their act together and create some standardization 
. TikTok's strategy might be a step in the right direction, but we still have to keep an eye on how it plays out