Faced with numerous criticisms linked to the addiction of its young users, TikTok is preparing to impose a time limit of 60 minutes a day for minors, after which they will have to enter a password to continue. It was time !
Thanks to its short formats in an algorithm-doped news feed, its fun filters, its many creation tools and its large community to exchange with, TikTok is a huge success with the youngest. The magic recipe is so addictive – and lucrative – that it can make you lose track of time – this is also the goal sought by the developers. According to the latest barometer on SVoD consumption from Mediametrie released in October 2022, a user spends an average of 23.6 hours per month on the Chinese social network. Between 2020 and 2022, the time spent on it increased by 140%! According to another global study by Qustodio, minors spent an average of 1h47 per day on TikTok in 2022. But such popularity among young audiences comes with heavy responsibilities, which the platform often falls short of, s thereby attracting the wrath of various governments. Dangerous challenges, inappropriate content, misinformation… Like any social network, there are many abuses! Addiction to the application is also a major problem, which the platform tries somehow to remedy. So, within a few weeks, TikTok will impose a daily limit of 60 minutes on users under 18.
TikTok: a screen time limit for minors
As reported Le Figaroonce a miner has exceeded one hour of use, they will automatically see a large display on their screen that “For your well-being, your daily screen time has been set at one hour“. To continue using TikTok, he will have to enter a password, “which will lead him to take the initiative to extend his time on the platform or not”, indicates the platform. The goal is not to completely block the application, but to make the young user responsible for its use. If he continues and then exceeds 100 minutes of screen time in a day, a new alert will prompt him to set a daily time limit. The company ensures that, after a month of testing, “This approach has increased the use of our screen time management tools by 234%.” Afterwards, it will always be possible to deactivate this default option or simply lie about your age…
TikTok is also announcing that parents who link their account with their children’s will now be able to set a maximum login time depending on the day of the week – for example, 30 minutes maximum Monday to Friday and 1 hour on weekends. They will also receive a weekly summary of their offspring’s activity on TikTok: how many hours they spent on the application, how long they stayed there in the evening, how many times they opened it during the week , etc. AT note that there were already options to activate in the settings to limit your time on the Chinese social network, such as screen time break reminders and sleep reminders. Moreover, in China, TikTok is limited for children under 14 to 40 minutes a day and is inaccessible to them between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
The French government has welcomed the new measures, even if it considers that it is not enough and that it does not solve all the problems of the platform. Charlotte Caubel, the Secretary of State for Child Protection, however, hopes that this will inspire other social networks. For his part, the Minister Delegate in charge of the Digital Transition Jean-Noël Barrot saw in this device a “progress that was expected”.
TikTok: content prohibited for people under 18
TikTok regularly finds itself at the heart of controversy because it does not filter content accessible to young users. Many very dangerous challenges thus regularly make the buzz, like the blackout challenge – which encourages people to film themselves choking to fainting and which cost the lives of at least seven children –, the scar challenge or videos of a violent nature, addressing topics such as self-harm and suicide. Younger people therefore find themselves exposed to age-inappropriate content, because they are not aware of the risks they run by imitating those they admire, or are not emotionally mature enough to tackle certain subjects. This is why TikTok had deployed new functions in July 2022 aimed at strengthening the protection of minors on its platform, in particular by means of a filtering system.
Of course, the platform always removes videos if they violate its guidelines regarding nudity, sexual activity, and violence. But, faced with the controversy of the blackout challenge, TikTok had reacted by working on new functions, including one aimed at prohibiting certain livestreaming at least 18 years old. Tracy Elizabeth, head of policy for TikTok in the United States, had explained to Techcrunch that “we’ve heard directly from our creators that sometimes they have a desire to reach only a specific older audience. For example, they can create a comedy with adult humor or offer boring workplace advice that is only for adults. Or they talk about very difficult life experiences. Given the diversity of topics covered, we are testing ways to empower creators to reach the intended audience of their specific content.“Creators are therefore encouraged to use the Mature Themes button, which helps prevent minors from encountering content intended for mature audiences or which may not be of interest to them in livestreams.
But the new filtering system also concerns the videos found in the For You tab. On July 13, 2022, the application gave more details in a blog post. This is a function called Content Levels – content level in French – the aim of which is to offer different levels of content, adapted according to the age of the public – a bit like the PEGI rating in video games. “We are working on implementing a new system to organize content according to thematic maturity. Many people are familiar with similar systems used in the film, television or video game industry. We create with these systems in mind knowing that we need to develop a unique approach for TikTok“, explained the company.
TikTok: a more personalized algorithm
The platform has also launched another system to avoid the mass distribution of videos on a topic deemed sensitive, such as fad diets or content related to depression. The idea is to avoid repeatedly showing this type of subject to users. A little, it’s interesting; too much, it can turn into an obsession. The sequence of videos on the same theme keeps the user active on the platform, but can also very quickly make him dependent, by locking him into a kind of virtual reality, in an obsessive loop.
Finally, the last option allows the user to define words and hashtags (keywords) that they do not want to see in their For You or Following feed. As soon as it is done, the application takes care of automatically filtering the videos offered. With this option, it is for example possible to ask TikTok to no longer offer DIY videos – because we have finished the renovations –, cooking – we have become vegan, for example –, or even showing video games. violent. “In the coming months, we plan to add new features to provide detailed content filtering options to our entire community, so they can enjoy more of what they love,” had at the time assured TikTok. Still, it is better now to put in place the various tools of the platform to protect the youngest, such as filtering inappropriate content, limiting screen time or even the impossibility of being contacted. by strangers (see our practical sheet).