TikTok is now under investigation by several US State Attorneys who are trying to determine if the app violated state consumer protection laws.
Social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram have been under the spotlight with regard to child protection laws.
The AGs are seeking to find out the short video app‘s impact on the mental health of young users.
The coalition leading the probe includes AGs from California, Minnesota, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee and Vermont.
During his state of the union address on Tuesday, U.S President Joe Biden called for a ban on targeted advertising to children on social media.
“As children and teens already grapple with issues of anxiety, social pressure, and depression, we cannot allow social media to further harm their physical health and mental well-being,” said Maura Healey, Massachusetts AG.
The investigation will be looking at techniques TikTok uses to boost engagement, increase the time spent in the app and frequency of usage.
TikTok on its end said that they look forward to providing information on the many safety and privacy protections the platform has for teens.
There are a few settings you can enable including:
Enable Restricted Mode for Children
If you are a parent whose child is has a TikTok account, then you’ll need to enable this feature. This mode stops inappropriate content from appearing on your child’s for you page. you can add a passcode so that the setting is not disabled by the child.
Profile > Settings > Security and Privacy > Digital Wellbeing > Restricted Mode
Enable Family Safety Tools
TikTok allows you as a parent to have remote access to your child’s TikTok account. Once your account is paired with theirs, you can control their screen time, limit the content they can view, manage their privacy and safety settings and choose whether your child can have a private or public account.
Profile > Settings > Security and Privacy > Family Pairing
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