Social media giant TikTok is currently under scrutiny from Iowa’s Attorney General who accused the company of putting out apps with misleading age labeling.
The lawsuit was rolled out in the firm’s direction which spoke about how the platform exposed minors to all sorts of explicit material linked to suggestive themes, alcohol, drugs, and more explicit findings.
In the same way, prosecutors added how such acts are misleading parents too because it keeps them in the dark in terms of how their kids are exposed to so much yet they are unaware of it. From abuse and self-harm to sexually themed material, it’s getting worse with time, they added. More light was also shed on how the company sneaked past all types of parental blocks by misrepresenting the degree of the content on display.
TikTok mentioned how it’s a suitable app for all kinds of audiences that are above the age of 12. While the platform did claim it was a platform for those above the age of 12, the material on display was more for those who were 17 and above and that’s so shocking.
Those that do have the 12+ labeling for age groups on them must be accessed by those above the age of 17. So such a filing argued that TikTok’s right age rating would be 17 years and above.
Apps having 12+ ratings on them were classified as featuring inappropriate content to a lesser degree. But he also mentioned how TikTok’s content was not accessible easily.
The massive court filing also goes on to speak about how the app is rated incorrectly across the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. And even in Microsoft’s STore where there is a T rating for Teens that isn’t right.
More shocking investigations into the company proved how the app is offering recipes for self-harm, drugs, alcohol, profanity, and beyond. It’s just wrong to see such unlawful acts get markets by the leading company’s algorithm. And that’s especially true because of how popular it is for those who are categorized as the youth.
Seeing the app’s own Restricted Mode falling short of things like stopping content from getting available online to younger audiences is another alarming endeavor altogether.
Therefore, the whole purpose of the lawsuit was to stop the leading app from being deemed suitable for the youth while penalizing it for actions so that it and others steer clear of this kind of behavior in the future.
But TikTok is not backing down. It refused to accept all of the allegations, boldly claiming that it was working hard to curb such matters to begin with. They have industry-leading safeguards in place to protect minors at all costs. This includes parental controls as well as time restrictions that are working for those below the age of 18. Similarly, they are committed to ensuring community safety as their top priority.
In case you’re wondering, this is not the first time that the tech giant has been called out. Many also have concerns about data sharing with those in China, especially US lawmakers who have blasted the app in this regard.
Photo: Digital Information World - AIgen
Read next: Meta Unveils New ‘Nighttime Nudges’ For Instagram So Teens Log Off During Late Hours
The lawsuit was rolled out in the firm’s direction which spoke about how the platform exposed minors to all sorts of explicit material linked to suggestive themes, alcohol, drugs, and more explicit findings.
In the same way, prosecutors added how such acts are misleading parents too because it keeps them in the dark in terms of how their kids are exposed to so much yet they are unaware of it. From abuse and self-harm to sexually themed material, it’s getting worse with time, they added. More light was also shed on how the company sneaked past all types of parental blocks by misrepresenting the degree of the content on display.
TikTok mentioned how it’s a suitable app for all kinds of audiences that are above the age of 12. While the platform did claim it was a platform for those above the age of 12, the material on display was more for those who were 17 and above and that’s so shocking.
Those that do have the 12+ labeling for age groups on them must be accessed by those above the age of 17. So such a filing argued that TikTok’s right age rating would be 17 years and above.
Apps having 12+ ratings on them were classified as featuring inappropriate content to a lesser degree. But he also mentioned how TikTok’s content was not accessible easily.
The massive court filing also goes on to speak about how the app is rated incorrectly across the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. And even in Microsoft’s STore where there is a T rating for Teens that isn’t right.
More shocking investigations into the company proved how the app is offering recipes for self-harm, drugs, alcohol, profanity, and beyond. It’s just wrong to see such unlawful acts get markets by the leading company’s algorithm. And that’s especially true because of how popular it is for those who are categorized as the youth.
Seeing the app’s own Restricted Mode falling short of things like stopping content from getting available online to younger audiences is another alarming endeavor altogether.
Therefore, the whole purpose of the lawsuit was to stop the leading app from being deemed suitable for the youth while penalizing it for actions so that it and others steer clear of this kind of behavior in the future.
- Explore more: AI-Produced Content Is Being Marketed Across Google News And The Company Is Aware Of It
But TikTok is not backing down. It refused to accept all of the allegations, boldly claiming that it was working hard to curb such matters to begin with. They have industry-leading safeguards in place to protect minors at all costs. This includes parental controls as well as time restrictions that are working for those below the age of 18. Similarly, they are committed to ensuring community safety as their top priority.
In case you’re wondering, this is not the first time that the tech giant has been called out. Many also have concerns about data sharing with those in China, especially US lawmakers who have blasted the app in this regard.
Read next: Meta Unveils New ‘Nighttime Nudges’ For Instagram So Teens Log Off During Late Hours
