UK Regulator Investigates TikTok Over Child Age Checks
Ofcom is the UK's online watchdog group. It is now investigating TikTok over child age checks.
The check follows rules under the UK's Online Safety Act. If TikTok breaks the rules it could face large fines.
Fines could reach £18 million or 10% of its worldwide earnings. The check follows a May review by Ofcom.
That review said TikTok was not safe enough for children. Ofcom is looking at TikTok's age guess method.
This method guesses a user's age from their behavior. It does not directly check a person's real age.
Ofcom said it has serious doubts this method works well. Ofcom found evidence that children use VPNs to dodge the checks.
A VPN is a tool that hides where someone is browsing from. Ofcom worries weak checks let children see posts about self-harm and suicide.
This check comes before a planned UK ban on social media for under-16s. TikTok said it is confident it follows the Online Safety Act rules.
Key Terms 4
- Ofcom The UK group that oversees online safety rules.
- Online Safety Act A UK law that sets rules to protect users online.
- VPN A tool that hides a user's true location online.
- age inference Guessing someone's age from their behavior instead of checking directly.