In 2019 TikTok
settled for millions after federal regulators charged it with violating the
children’s privacy law. TikTok does not have an age limit in order to use the app. When signing up for an account, TIkTok asks that users input their birthdays. Kids who are truthful and sign up as 13 and under, receive curated, clean videos and aren’t allowed to post, comment or search. This is obviously not any fun, however, and kids can easily be remedy this by inputting a false birthday. Accounts can be made private, but that only limits who can watch your kids, and not what your kids can watch. TikTok does have
parental controls where adults can manage screen time, block inappropriate content and disable direct messaging. However, kids are smart and know they can simply undo whatever their caretakers set up for them or simply delete and re-download the app. So what can parents and caregivers do to keep their kids safe on TikTok?