Uncovering TikTok: Safety Breach | The MCS Podcast - #1

Hello everyone and welcome to the MCS podcast. I'm your host, Machel Chalmers-Stewart, and in this episode, we will be covering the European Union's investigation into TikTok's alleged breach of guidelines for their young users. Created in 2016, TikTok is a Chinese app every teen to young adult is addicted to. The more attention a platform gets, the more it needs to regulate its app to ensure the safety of its users. If you have younger siblings, you know they want to be involved in everything you do. They think you're cool, so they follow you, and that norm also applies to social media. Given its widespread popularity, younger kids want to get involved. Still, age restrictions are implemented by TikTok because of its duty to protect the youth from the permanence of the interweb. Recent investigations from the EU found that although TikTok has an age verification prompt, it could be more effective. For those wondering, the Digital Service Act is legislation meant to maintain a certain standard for the world's most popular platforms. Alongside the bill, platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Amazon must complete an annual risk assessment. The assessment highlights the company's acknowledgment of the risk of propaganda-like content, plus an additional mandate to mitigate propaganda. TikTok has a specialized team for this, but the EU is evaluating further. The DSA also looks to restrict companies from building profiles on children and targeting them with ads. So recently, there have been allegations of TikTok breaching the DSA. The investigation looked into the protection of minors, which is a priority of the Digital Service Act. A spokesperson recently came out to discuss the settings to protect teens while keeping children under 13 off the app. There have been questions about whether they have been doing enough to protect and to prevent inappropriate content from being accessed. There have been talks of implementing government-issued photo ID to join apps like TikTok. Some apps have already taken this approach. This approach obviously will raise concerns of where is our ID going? There will be backlash of parents not monitoring their children properly as well. TikTok has implemented an age-restricted site that 18-plus members can access. This can be turned off when the users are of age. Getting into the site of TikTok is relatively easy as they just ask you your age and trust you to be truthful. TikTok is a one-of-a-kind app. Running off of prosumer culture means random people can spread propaganda. This is dangerous to the platform's impressionable youth. The uniqueness of TikTok allows more people to connect, but there will always be someone with the wrong intentions. The algorithm, the setup for a platform of this magnitude, ensuring everything gets adequately regulated is extremely difficult. So verification process of getting onto the app must be more difficult. As we conclude, I want to thank you for listening. I encourage you to stay informed and continue engaging in talks of online safety and digital rights as we strive for a safer digital future. Thanks to Logic Moon on Freesound for the effects. I'm your host, Machel Chalmers-Stewart, and until next time.