TikTok is bolstering its age-verification measures across Europe. In the coming weeks, the platform will roll out upgraded age-detection tech in the European Economic Area, as well as in the UK and Switzerland.The systems will assess the likely age of a user based on their profile information and activity. When the tech flags an account that may belong to a user aged under 13 (the minimum age to use TikTok), a specialist moderator will assess whether it should be banned. TikTok will send users in Europe a notification to tell them about these measures and offer them a chance to learn more.Also, if a moderator is looking at content for other reasons and thinks an account might belong to an underage user, they can flag it to a specialist for further review. Anyone can report an account they suspect is used by someone under 13 as well. TikTok says it removes about 6 million underage accounts in total from the platform every month.Those whose accounts are banned can appeal if they think their access was wrongly terminated. Users can then provide a government-approved ID, a credit card authorization or selfie for age estimation (the latter process has not gone well for Roblox as of late, as kids found workarounds for age checks).TikTok acknowledged that there's no single ideal solution to the issue as things stand. "Despite best efforts, there remains no globally agreed-upon method for effectively confirming a person's age in a way that also preserves their privacy," it stated in a blog post. "At TikTok, we're committed to keeping children under the age of 13 off our platform, providing teens with age-appropriate experiences and continuing to assess and implement a range of solutions. We believe that a multi-layered approach to age assurance - one in which multiple techniques are used - is essential to protecting teens and upholding safety-by-design principles."TikTok is rolling out these practices after a pilot in Europe over the last year. That project helped the platform to identify and remove thousands more underage accounts. It worked with the Data Protection Commission (its main privacy regulator in the EU) to help ensure it complied with the bloc's strict data protection standards.These measures are coming into force amid intensifying calls to keep kids off social media. A social media ban for under 16s in Australia went into effect last month. Affected platforms have collectively closed or restricted millions of accounts as a result. Reddit has filed a lawsuit over the ban.A similar ban might be on the cards in the UK amid public pressure and cross-party support. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said "all options are on the table" and that he was watching "what is happening in Australia."The House of Lords is set to vote on proposals for an under-16 social media ban next week. If an amendment passes, members of parliament will hold a binding vote on the matter in the coming months.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/tiktok-tightens-age-verification-across-europe-130000847.html?src=rss

TikTok's signature features that hooked users around the world are its algorithm and endless scroll. Now, though, the European Union has called those aspects of the app illegal and may order the company to alter them.Today, the European Commission preliminarily found TikTok in breach of the Digital Services Act for its addictive design," the EU's regulator said in a press release. This includes features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and its highly personalized recommender system." It said that TikTok failed to put up safeguards to ensure that those addictive" features don't harm the physical and mental wellbeing of users," including minors.For example, by constantly rewarding' users with new content, certain design features of TikTok fuel the urge to keep scrolling and shift the brain of users into autopilot mode'. Scientific research shows that this may lead to compulsive behaviour and reduce users' self-control," the regulators stated.TikTok's current parental controls and features to limit screen time are insufficient, the Commission added, and TikTok may need to modify them. The platform may also be required to limit its infinite scroll and adjust its recommendation algorithms.The EU Commission will give TikTok an opportunity to rebut the findings and the company said would use any means available" to challenge them. The commission's preliminary findings present a categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform," the company told The New York Times in a statement.Europe opened its wide-ranging investigation against TikTok in February 2024 and has already found the company at fault for its data sharing practices and advertising transparency. If found guilty of violating the DSA, TikTok faces a fine up to six percent of its annual worldwide turnover.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/eu-says-tiktok-uses-addictive-design-and-must-change-131738425.html?src=rss