Deemed "addictive", TikTok will warn its underage users after one hour of use

Europe 1 with AFP 6:10 p.m., March 01, 2023

The Chinese ultra-short video site TikTok, criticized for being "addictive" for young people, will set up in a few weeks, by default, a warning after 60 minutes of use for all those who have declared to have less 18 years old.

The miner will need to enter a password to continue watching the site, TikTok said in a statement.

If they have a family pairing of accounts, parents will be able to "set their teen's maximum daily screen time" "based on the days of the week," TikTok says.

Young people can still, however, disable the feature or lie about their age, like on other websites.

This new feature, which supplements existing warnings, aims to respond to those who criticize the explosion of time spent on the app by 4-18 year olds, caught up in the uninterrupted scrolling of videos offered by algorithms that analyze their tastes. .

According to a recent global study by Qustodio, in 2022, minors spent an average of 1h47 per day on TikTok.

A "progress that was expected" 

Secretary of State for Children Charlotte Caubel had questioned TikTok in a tweet on February 25.

"The European Commission is asking its employees to remove TikTok. This must also raise questions for our children. The application is subject to many excesses: pinches in the face, misinformation... its impact should not be underestimated".

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“This proposal is a step in the right direction, but does not address all of our concerns, particularly with regard to the protection of user data and the content of content accessible to our children,” she reacted on Wednesday. , judging that a "firm and committed dialogue with the platforms is the only way to protect our children on the internet".

The Minister Delegate for the Digital Transition Jean-Noël Barrot saw in this device announced by TikTok a "progress that was expected", in a statement to AFP.

"It's a facade, it's useless!"

TikTok is also implicated for suspicions of data transfer to China, which led several European and American governments to decide to ban the app on the phones of public officials.

During a recent debate organized in Bercy for Internet Safer Day on February 7, young people asked for less catchy apps.

"Putting messages to say 'you've spent so much time' is not enough, it's a facade, it's useless! You just have to stop making addictive content and reduce addiction by doing something else on the videos", protested Alexandra, one of the young people invited to this debate with the platforms.

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The Chinese version of TikTok, dubbed Douyin, is limited for children under 14 to 40 minutes a day and is inaccessible to them between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

A bill from Horizons deputy (right) Laurent Marcangeli will be discussed Thursday in the National Assembly, setting the "numerical majority" at 15 years.

It would oblige minors below this age to obtain their parents' authorization to register on social networks.