TikTok To Set Screen Time Restrictions For Younger Users

Short-form video-sharing app, TikTok has announced that teenagers will need to input a passcode to continue watching after 60 minutes, and viewers under the age of 13 need a parent or guardian to set or enter a passcode to unlock an extra 30 minutes.

The short-form video-sharing app said the adjustments would be introduced "in the coming weeks".

Parents can limit their child's screen time based on the day of the week if they give them access to TikTok through a family pairing account, the company stated.

Under-14s are limited to 40 minutes of daily use on the Chinese version of TikTok, called Douyin, and are not able to access it between the hours of 10:00 pm and 6:00 am.

The new function complements current controls on how much time kids spend in front of screens, such as a prompt that was launched last year to urge teenagers to enable screen time management and a weekly inbox message that summarises a user's screen usage.

Nonetheless, young users will still have the option to turn off the time limit feature or misrepresent their age, much like on other sites.

The Chinese social media platform has come under fire for the growing amount of time kids between the ages of four and 18 spend scrolling through videos that are recommended to them based on their preferences and algorithmic criteria.

In 2022, minors spent an average of one hour and 47 minutes per day on TikTok, according to a new study by the parental control software Qustodio.

The European Union's institutions recently ordered its personnel to remove the app from their smartphones because to concerns about data protection in the West, which have also harmed the website controlled by the Chinese company ByteDance.

Canada has adopted a similar policy, and the White House has given US federal agencies 30 days to remove TikTok from government-issued devices.