Texas judge rules TikTok misled users on child safety feature

11vuio0pswjnm7 about 3 hours ago 33 commentsRead Article on reuters.com

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jjice•about 2 hours ago

It blows my mind that parents let their children use these platforms with these safety features.

I just found out yesterday that my cousin lets their 5ish year old have a TikTok account, but they have to allow or deny anyone who follows. How absurd is that. It doesn't block anything about what they view (I assume they relied on this safety feature), and there's no way that vetting who can follow (family and friends) is safe enough. The alternative is my younger cousin not having access to TikTok at five years old. Seems like a completely fine alternative.

I imagine the average person just doesn't think about the potential implications of giving your child a TikTok account at that age.

order-matters•35 minutes ago

I feel the average person is not equipped to understand the implications. being educated / intelligent means you have likely picked up some neuroscience knowledge and it has stuck for you over the years. Even if it is not your "field" we all have a brain and if you like knowledge then you recognize it's useful to know about it.

The average person, especially the below average person, is better off trusting others than their own judgement - since most people know more than them.

You need to talk to your cousin. No one else is going to.

izzydata•about 1 hour ago

5 years old is crazy, but by the time they are 15-16 it becomes difficult to restrict them from things their peers all do. There needs to be a wider push from all parents or more of a consensus from society that these platforms are dangerous.

Grombobulous•about 1 hour ago

Yes, the platforms need to be regulated more for minors.

But also, prohibition has never been a very effective method with teens.

Just look at how college kids drink when they get to college. The sudden removal of parental restriction has a lot to do with that if you ask me.

I think this is better approached with broad education, and stronger regulations on the platforms themselves.

Part of the problem is that many parents aren’t educated themselves about what is good and bad for their kids. Examples include things like nutrition, screen time, even simple stuff like when to wean from bottles and keeping suffocation risks out of cribs.

Forgeties79•about 1 hour ago

> Part of the problem is that many parents aren’t educated themselves about what is good and bad for their kids. Examples include things like nutrition, screen time, even simple stuff like when to wean from bottles and keeping suffocation risks out of cribs.

I would argue that more is being asked now of parents than in previous decades at least. You’re asking every parent to fight multi-billion dollar international addiction platforms on top of working, parenting, etc.

foobar_______•26 minutes ago

I try to be open-minded to other parenting techniques... but I just don't have the brain power to internalize how any remotely self-aware human let's a 5 year old use tik tok. Poor kid.

lynx97•about 1 hour ago

Instead of sueing the platforms, the parents should be subjected to CPS, on a daily basis.

mcmcmc•about 1 hour ago

Ah yes, all parents should constantly be monitored by the state for compliance with standards, gotta love small government

esseph•about 1 hour ago

Go after the drug dealers ffs

Are you a friend of Larry Ellison by chance? His ideas don't stop at kids.

tolugenius•about 2 hours ago

> Liu also said Texas had established that TikTok's "Restricted Mode" did not work as advertised and exposed minors to content the company said would be filtered out.

I don't use tiktok, can someone explain what the restrict mode was advertised as vs does? If it's like any social media limiter it's perhaps a softer thing (time limit) than a hard thing (ie, designed to put the onus on the user).

foolswisdom•about 2 hours ago

> The State’s second argument concerns TikTok’s representations about whether its “Restricted Mode” feature effectively filtered out content that might be inappropriate for minors. TikTok claimed that Restricted Mode “limits the appearance of content that may not be appropriate for all audiences” and that users “shouldn’t see mature or complex themes,” such as “profanity,” “sexually suggestive content,” “realistic violence or threatening imagery,” “firearms or weapons in an environment that isn’t appropriate,” “illegal or controlled substances/drugs,” and “explicit references to mature or complex themes that may reflect personal experiences or real-world events that are intended for older audiences.” For years, the State argues, TikTok employees internally recognized that Restricted Mode was not functioning in the way it was marketed and exposed users to a high volume of content that should have been filtered out.

https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/ima...

ketzu•about 2 hours ago

Based on their faq: https://www.tiktok.com/support/faq_detail?category=web_accou...

> You shouldn't see mature or complex themes, such as:

> • Profanity

> • Sexually suggestive content

> • Realistic violence or threatening imagery

> • Firearms or weapons in an environment that isn't appropriate

> • Illegal or controlled substances/drugs

> • Explicit references to mature or complex themes that may reflect personal experiences or real-world events that are intended for older audiences

It is clearly described as a content filter. (It also deactivates gifting on live and "following" feed.)

boscillator•about 1 hour ago

I wonder what counts as a complex theme? Surely that is a euphemism for something, but I can't figure out what it would be and certainly don't trust TikTok to do a good job of deciding what is too complex for the youth's minds.

mcmcmc•about 1 hour ago

Curious what they consider an “appropriate environment” for firearms and weapons

ljf•about 2 hours ago

From TikTok:

What Is Restricted Mode? Restricted Mode limits videos that may not be right for all viewers. It filters out mature or complex themes. Some features like LIVE videos and the Following feed are hidden while it is active

So I can only assume that it did not filter out these things.

cwillu•about 2 hours ago

IIRC, it's supposed to filter out disturbing or offensive content; any time you report a comment or a video, it suggests enabling it to prevent seeing that sort of thing in the future.

pmdr•about 1 hour ago

TikTok isn't even safe for adults, let alone children.

phendrenad2•about 1 hour ago

The open internet isn't safe for adults, either. There is some serious misinformation out there, and it's high time we restrict the internet to only high-IQ people. (/sarc)

pmdr•5 minutes ago

I like to think there's a difference between being fed misinformation & braindrot day in, day out and having to look for them yourself.

philipallstar•about 2 hours ago

Texas judge rules heroin marketed as child safe so parents could get back to doing their own heroin was not child safe after all.

hirvi74•about 2 hours ago

Why would anyone expect a data-funnel to the CCP to be honest? I am baffled that people even use the app.

vinyl7•16 minutes ago

Tiktok was sold to a US company iirc

tencentshill•13 minutes ago

...so now the CCP has to pay the middleman Ellison for the same data.

mcmcmc•about 1 hour ago

It’s a data funnel to Larry Ellison and the Trump crime family now.

hirvi74•5 minutes ago

I feel even worse now.

phendrenad2•about 1 hour ago

Will you ever cease to be baffled, I wonder? All the crazy things people do, and all the crazy stories on the news every single day, your life must be absolute kaleidoscopic madness of noncomprehension.

foobar_______•22 minutes ago

"kaleidoscopic madness of noncomprehension". Hilarious image. Thank you for this. Not the OP but this actually describes my state sometimes. Darkly, I think the problem is I put too much faith in others.

consensus1•about 1 hour ago

There's only 3 options for the internet:

1. free for all

2. locked down with ID checked age gates

3. sanitized with no adult content at all

If we put responsibility for keeping kids safe on companies we will get 2 or 3. The only good option is that parents need to actually parent their kids.

lynx97•about 1 hour ago

This is soooo true. But unfortunately, whenever you confront a parent with their responsibilities, they immediately lash out with excuses. "How should I know." "There is already sooo much work to do." "In these times ..." All lazy ass excuses by people who obviously have no idea what responsibility they have.

deberon•41 minutes ago

This comment is just a lazy attempt at changing minds. Why don’t you get off your ass and actually institute real change in the world? We’re all waiting. This is your responsibility after all, according to me. From here on out, all unresolved problems are the fault of lynx97 being a lazy slackass. So says me, with the power of a random internet person assigning responsibilities. Consider yourself confronted. I’ll await your excuses.

intrasight•about 1 hour ago

Those are not mutually exclusive. I'll take #1 and #2 combined, thank you very much. #3 is the purview of the advertisers and CC companies.

phendrenad2•about 1 hour ago

How long do you think you'll have #1 and #2 before someone in government realizes they can dox people they don't like?