TikTok is taking the extra steps to make sure that the short-form video app is safe for everyone who uses it, especially younger audiences. Company CEO Shou Chew already met with the "youth council" who will help with the matter.
TikTok's Youth Council
Aside from the national security concerns surrounding TikTok's handling of US user data, the issue of youth safety has also been brought up. The creation of a youth council is meant to tackle said issues and help make the app safer for the impacted.
TikTok already made its plans to create such a council known last year, and that has been made official. The members of the council are meant to advise the company on how they can make the platform provide a safer experience for users.
The group already met with the company with TikTok CEO Shou Chew present, and it was said that the council already influenced certain steps that the company will take to achieve its goal, including a media literacy campaign in the US, as per Engadget.
TikTok's goal in the mentioned campaign would be to "focus on misinformation, AI-generated content, and more." In addition to that, a youth portal will be added to the app as a feature, which provides resources for in-app privacy and security.
With plans already underway, the 15 teens on the council from the US, UK, Brazil, Indonesia, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, and Morocco, will continue to contribute to the efforts of the company to make the app safer and more secure for younger users.
Other than the company itself, the young council members will also collaborate with the UK online safety organization Praesidio Safeguarding, which also helped with the selection of the members for the youth council.
For now, it's not clear how much influence the council has over features and policies on the platform. Even with major changes that would make the app a safer space for young users, it might not help the situation with the looming US ban.
TikTok Faces Fine Over Child Safety
Back in February, the EU proposed a probe into TikTok to evaluate the range of concerns that were raised regarding its safety for minors, and a little over a week ago, TikTok was fined by Italian regulators over child safety for $10.9 million.
Last year, Italy's consumer authority AGCM has already looked into the "French scar" challenge wherein users would share marks on their faces by pinching their skin, as per Tech Crunch. Three regional companies in the ByteDance group were sanctioned for what was said to be an "unfair commercial practice."
The regulator expressed that the company failed to implement appropriate mechanisms to monitor content published on the platform, "particularly those that may threaten the safety of minors and vulnerable individuals."
Following the investigation, AGCM said that TikTok was responsible for disseminating content that is "likely to threaten the psycho-physical safety of users, especially if minor and vulnerable," given that it did not take enough measures to prevent the spread of content like the "French scar."
