TikTok may not be safe for kids. Parents are concerned about the application’s addictive features, which can damage the physical and mental health of young users. Parents may also worry about issues with TikTok’s age verification and parental control features.
Key takeaways about TikTok safety for kids
- TikTok is a social media app that may affect the mental health of children and teens.
- Parents are concerned about TikTok’s seemingly defective age verification and parental control features that allow underage users unrestricted access to the app.
- TikTok’s features can track a user’s behaviors and can create social media addiction.
What is TikTok?
TikTok is a social media app made by ByteDance that allows users to create, share and discover short-form videos. The app is known for its engaging content. TikTok tailors video feeds (called the “For You Page” or “FYP”) to each user’s interests to maximize engagement.
TikTok was introduced to the international market in 2017 and quickly became popular among American teens and tweens. As of 2020, TikTok reported that over a third of its daily users are 14 or younger.
A 2023 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center reported:
- 63% of teens use TikTok
- 58% of teens use TikTok daily
- 17% of teens use TikTok “almost constantly”
TikTok’s widespread popularity has parents questioning its safety and influence on their kids’ mental health.
Why are parents concerned about TikTok?
Parents are concerned about TikTok because of its seemingly addictive features, defective age verification process and absence of parental controls. These features allow children under 13 to access the app, with all of its potentially addictive features.
TikTok allows kids to easily avoid age restriction protocols. For example, they can access TikTok without an account by browsing as a guest. Even without an account, TikTok can gather data about viewing habits to recommend videos and personalize their experience.
TikTok may hinder parents’ capacity to monitor minors. The app allows young users to block their parents’ profiles. Kids can also post videos called “Stories” that are only visible to a select group of friends.
TikTok has no time limits, and its features are meant to increase time spent on the app. These features can result in compulsive use and addiction. There are no online safety features to inform parents when minors spend too much time on TikTok or use the app at inappropriate times, like when they should be sleeping. TikTok is even designed to mask the clock at the top of some iPhones so that users lose track of their screen time.
Parents are also concerned about TikTok’s privacy settings. Before 2021, ByteDance’s default privacy setting for all TikTok accounts (including those of minors) was “public.” A public account allows anyone to see the user's profile, friend them and engage with their content, even if they’re minors. A private account gives more control over who can interact with the account. A private account hides videos, profile information and other activities from non-followers. TikTok’s current default privacy setting remains public for users 16 and over.
Learn about why social media can be bad for kids
Contact a TikTok attorney
Parents of children who sustained harm while using dangerous social media platforms like TikTok might be able to recover damages through a legal claim. If you need more information about how to file a social media lawsuit against companies like TikTok, contact the attorneys at Motley Rice for more information.
How old do you have to be to have TikTok?
Officially, the TikTok age requirement to use the app in the United States is 13 years old. However, TikTok does not verify the age its users report. It has no method of verifying that users who say they are minors have parental permission to use the app. This makes it easy for kids to get around the TikTok age requirement.
ByteDance created “TikTok for Younger Users” in 2019 to provide underage users with a limited TikTok experience. Younger users can’t share videos, comment on videos, send direct messages or build a profile or followers on TikTok. But they can record and watch videos. They can also easily delete their restricted accounts and sign up for an unrestricted account on the same device without parental permission or age verification.
TikTok age verification
TikTok’s age verification process is ineffective. It asks users their age when they open an account but doesn’t verify the age the users report. ByteDance admits it cannot accurately identify minors who are 13 – 17 years old when they lie about their age.
Many TikTok users under 13 don’t correctly report their age. These underage users can easily create one or more accounts and gain full access to the app with this tactic. This misrepresentation plus TikTok’s failure to verify age exposes vulnerable users to the general TikTok population and gives them unrestricted access to the app’s features.
Does TikTok have parental controls?
Many allege TikTok has defective parental controls that allow children under 13 to use the app. These inadequate and ineffective parental controls can put kids' safety at risk. The app’s Family Pairing feature can be easily circumvented by children.
In 2019, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit claiming ByteDance failed to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA). Following a legal settlement with the FTC, TikTok created a Family Pairing feature. This feature enables parents and children to connect their TikTok accounts and allows parents to control screen time, view
direct messaging and access to specific content.
However, Family Pairing has several major flaws, including:
- Children can avoid Family Pairing by creating anonymous accounts without parental approval
- Family Pairing is only available on the TikTok cell phone app and does not protect users who access the platform on a web browser
- Minors are not required to enable Family Pairing
- Parents are required to have their own TikTok account
- Parents must be aware of their child’s account to set up Family Pairing
How does TikTok work?
TikTok decides what to show you through features on its “For You” page (FYP). The FYP uses a machine-learning system to boost users’ TikTok engagement. Powerful features track user behaviors, providing an endless stream of TikToks to keep their attention.
The features are intended to persuade users, including susceptible teens, to use TikTok. It doesn’t matter if the experience is positive or not — the goal is to encourage and increase engagement. As the TikTok app continues to understand what leads to the most interaction, kids are more likely to become addicted to the app.
TikTok’s features begin functioning as soon as a user opens the app. The FYP presents the user with a single, full-screen stream of video content and records how they respond. TikTok populates each user’s FYP with a ranking system based on certain factors, including:
- Accounts followed
- Captions
- Device settings (their language preferences and location)
- Hashtags
- Interests communicated when users open an account
- Likelihood of continued engagement
- Videos liked
TikTok interprets one second of viewing as interest. A swipe away implies the user might prefer something else. Users cannot turn off auto-play on the FYP, so videos play on a never-ending loop, fueling addictive behavior. TikTok urges users to continuously scroll and engage with other users, making it difficult for them to stop using the app. ByteDance research found that TikTok users interact with the app around 10 times each minute, twice as often as with comparable social media apps.
Help for self-harm and suicidal behavior
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a free, confidential support system available 24/7. If you are in distress, dial 988 or visit 988lifeline.org for immediate support.
The National Eating Disorder Association is also available online at NationalEatingDisorders.org or by phone at 1-800-931-2237.
TikTok legal rights for parents
TikTok addiction poses severe mental health risks to its young users, including ADD/ADHD exacerbation, anxiety, body dysmorphia, death, depression, insomnia, self-harm and suicide.
Parents and guardians have a legal right to file lawsuits alleging harm from using social media apps like TikTok. Adults who experienced harm while using TikTok as a child may also have a claim. Common harms experienced by plaintiffs in TikTok lawsuits include a decline in mental health and the development of body image issues.
Motley Rice attorneys can listen to the details of your experience, determine your eligibility to file a lawsuit and help you navigate the legal process.
Our experience helping families and children
The influence of large technology companies on our lives cannot be overstated. Many allege social media apps like TikTok have rewired how young people think and behave, contributing to a national youth mental health crisis. Motley Rice attorneys have worked for years to seek justice for children and families harmed by technology and social media companies. If you need help filing a lawsuit related to TikTok’s effect on your mental health or that of a loved one, contact our law firm and see how we can help.
Read more on our social media litigation experience
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