TikTok, which has been criticized for having an algorithm so addictive that many teens say they are on the app constantly, is bringing in a screen time limit for younger users—though it’s not one that will be strictly enforced. The company says that in changes that will be rolled out in the coming weeks, users 13 to 17 years old will have a 60-minute daily screen time limit. TikTok says when the time is up, users will have to enter a passcode to continue viewing videos, “requiring them to make an active decision,” CNBC reports. TikTok says those under 18 will receive a weekly “recap of their screen time” and they will be asked to set limits if they use the app for more than 100 minutes a day. More:
- “The crack cocaine of algorithms.” Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, says TikTok “bombards” teens with potentially harmful content and it needs to “clean up” its feeds as well as limit screen time, the BBC reports. “TikTok has won the race for the hearts and minds of 14 to 24-year-olds in the United States and the United Kingdom,” he says. “It is the crack cocaine of algorithms. It is the most addictive, it is the most dangerous and the one that needs to be dealt with most urgently.”
- TikTok says it consulted experts. “While there’s no collectively-endorsed position on the ‘right’ amount of screen time or even the impact of screen time more broadly, we consulted the current academic research and experts from the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital in choosing this limit,” Cormac Keenan, head of trust and safety at TikTok, said in a blog post.
- Bans are piling up. The AP reports that privacy and security concerns with the China-owned app have led to bans in a growing number of countries including Canada, which banned it from government-issued devices this week. It has also been banned from government devices in the US federal government and more than half the states.
- House committee split on wider ban. Most moves to crack down on tech from China have had bipartisan support, but the House Foreign Affairs Committee split along party lines in a vote on a bill that could lead to a US-wide TikTok ban, Politico reports. The bill advanced after all 24 Republicans on the committee voted in favor and all 16 Democrats voted against.
(Read more TikTok stories.)