– I think TikTok is a fun and engaging place for young people. We have great content, says Chloe Setter to news. She is responsible for TikTok’s child safety guidelines in Europe. Recently, the debate about age limits in social media has gained momentum. Recently it became known that the government will introduce an absolute age limit and stricter regulation of content that is harmful to children. The government wants to introduce an absolute age limit for social media, but it is currently uncertain what it will be. Photo: AP In addition, a recent survey from Opinion shows that two out of three Norwegians want a higher age limit in social media. But TikTok, on the other hand, believes the platform is suitable for 13-year-olds. The youngest users do not have the opportunity to do the same as the older ones, explains Setter. – An example is that no one under the age of 16 can send instant messages to other users, and that no one under the age of 18 can “go live”. 14-year-old on age limit: – It will be a difficult few months Whether the government’s age limit will be 13, 14 or 15 years, has not yet been clarified. The 14-year-olds Kaja Olsen and Ayla Sofie Wikeland are excited about whether the upcoming age limit will affect them. – It’s going well, because I’ll be 15 soon, says Ayla. – But it will be a few hard months before that, Kaja interjects. 14-year-olds Kaja and Ayla hope they can continue to be on TikTok. The 14-year-olds themselves say that they spend several hours on social media every single day. Although they sometimes think that they have a bit too much screen time, both believe that they have also gained a lot from it: – You learn a lot of English. I’ve probably learned most of my English from social media, says Ayla. Removes many millions TikTok’s age limit is currently 13 years. Nevertheless, a survey by the Norwegian Media Authority shows that almost half of Norwegian 9-year-olds are on social media. – Does TikTok have control over children under the age of 13 not using the platform? – All our moderators are trained to look for those under the age of 13, says Setter. The interview with Setter was done before the government announced that it will introduce an age limit. Chloe Setter is responsible for TikTok’s guidelines for child safety in Europe Photo: Linda Marie Vedeler According to Setter, TikTok is the first company to say publicly how many accounts they remove due to age errors. These are accounts where the company suspects that the users are under 13 years of age. – There are around 20 million globally every quarter. I hope it shows that we are trying to remove these accounts because we don’t want them on the platform. Skeptical of age limit With the new age limit, the government wants to prevent children and young people from being exposed to harmful content and advertising. The plan is for the age limit to be strictly enforced using electronic identification. – We are facing challenges that we cannot solve alone. It is a task for politics to address this, Støre told news last week. John Magnus Ragnhildson Dahl is a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Information and Media Science at the University of Bergen. He is skeptical about whether an age limit on social media will work. John Magnus Ragnhildson Dahl, postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Information and Media Science at the University of Bergen, does not think an age limit will work. Photo: Zulfikar Fahmy / University of Bergen – I cannot imagine a general ban is possible, because we do not know which app and which platform will appear in the next months or years. He believes that social media may look quite different in the future than it does today, and that it will be difficult to define which apps the limit should apply to. In addition, he believes that the teenagers will discover the new social media that appear before the adults. – I can guarantee that they will. Teenagers are actively looking for ways to connect with the world. Published 10.07.2024, at 21.28
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TikTok believes the platform is suitable for 13-year-olds – news Culture and entertainment
