Following yesterday's ban from federal government devices in Canada, TikTok has now announced that accounts held by users under the age of 18 will be subjected to a default 60-minute daily screen time limit.
The new slate of features for minors and their families are expected to roll out in the coming weeks, as per a blog post from the company behind the fiercely popular social media site.
Cormac Keenan, head of trust and safety, explained that teens will be prompted to receive and enter a passcode and make the "active decision" to keep watching once the 60-minute limit is reached. Meanwhile, for children under the age of 13, parents or guardians will need to set or enter a passcode to allow for 30 additional minutes of viewing.
According to the statement, TikTok came up with the 60-minute threshold by consulting academic research and collaborating with the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children's Hospital. While teens will be able to opt out of the 60-minute limit, the app will now prompt them to set a daily limit of their own and send weekly inbox notifications recapping their screen time.
There will also be a number of changes related to digital well-being for users of all ages. Accountholders will be able to set custom screen time limits for every day of the week and set a schedule to mute notifications. Further, TikTok is introducing a sleep reminder to help people get offline at night.
These new features come at a time when there is growing concern about the Chinese-owned app's security. In the US, legislators have renewed their efforts to ban TikTok entirely, and social media executives have been called before Congress to explain how they're preventing young users from harm.
The new slate of features for minors and their families are expected to roll out in the coming weeks, as per a blog post from the company behind the fiercely popular social media site.
Cormac Keenan, head of trust and safety, explained that teens will be prompted to receive and enter a passcode and make the "active decision" to keep watching once the 60-minute limit is reached. Meanwhile, for children under the age of 13, parents or guardians will need to set or enter a passcode to allow for 30 additional minutes of viewing.
According to the statement, TikTok came up with the 60-minute threshold by consulting academic research and collaborating with the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children's Hospital. While teens will be able to opt out of the 60-minute limit, the app will now prompt them to set a daily limit of their own and send weekly inbox notifications recapping their screen time.
There will also be a number of changes related to digital well-being for users of all ages. Accountholders will be able to set custom screen time limits for every day of the week and set a schedule to mute notifications. Further, TikTok is introducing a sleep reminder to help people get offline at night.
These new features come at a time when there is growing concern about the Chinese-owned app's security. In the US, legislators have renewed their efforts to ban TikTok entirely, and social media executives have been called before Congress to explain how they're preventing young users from harm.
