TIKTOK has just unveiled a new feature that will prevent teen users from viewing certain mature content.
On Thursday, the social media platform said it was introducing a new tool called “Content levels”.
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What is ‘Content levels’?
This feature restricts certain content from younger and teenage users’ feeds.
TikTok said Content Levels is aimed at protecting younger users on the app by not exposing them to mature content.
“We understand that people may want to avoid certain categories of content based on their personal preferences,” TikTok said in a blog post.
“Or, for our teenage community members, some content may contain mature or complex themes that may reflect personal experiences or real-world events that are intended for older audiences.”
Content levels feature would utilize a thematic maturity system – the same type of system that’s used in the film, television, and gaming industries.
When will ‘Content levels’ be available?
TikTok will begin to gradually introduce this feature in the coming weeks.
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An ‘earlier version’ of the tool will be available first, specifically aimed at “preventing content with overtly mature themes from reaching audiences between ages 13-17.”
What else?
TikTok also introduced a tool that lets users block content from their feeds if it features a certain hashtag or word.
The feature is meant to let users customize their content intake.
“Part of what makes the TikTok experience unique is the ability for people to discover new interests, creators, and ideas,” TikTok said.
“We design our recommendation system with safety in mind, since content in someone’s ‘For You’ feed may come from a creator they prefer not to follow or relate to an interest they may not share.
“For instance, certain categories of content may be ineligible for recommendation, and viewers can use our ‘not interested’ feature to automatically skip videos from a creator or that use the same audio.
TikTok under hot water
The social media app has been under hot water for failing to protect its younger users.
Most recently, the parents of two children who reportedly died attempting the ‘blackout challenge’ filed a wrongful death suit against TikTok.
The lawsuit alleges TikTok’s algorithm promoted the challenge, which instructs participants to strangle themselves.
Attorney Matthew P Bergman said to The Guardian: “TikTok needs to be held accountable for pushing deadly content to these two young girls.”
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“TikTok has invested billions of dollars to intentionally design products that push dangerous content that it knows is dangerous and can result in the deaths of its users.”
Earlier this year, a former TikTok employee also sued the company for PTSD after witnessing appalling content including child sexual abuse, rape, graphic porn, and murder.
