TikTok will soon block anyone under 18 years old from using filters on the social media platform that dramatically alter their facial features, according to a press release. Filters that alter a person’s appearance in ways like giving fuller lips or larger eyes will no longer be accessible to minors but funny filters that add things like bunny ears will reportedly be acceptable.
The change will be rolled out globally in the next few weeks, according to a TikTok press release, and stems from concerns about the mental health of minors on the internet. Kids who’ve used facial “beauty” features can report feelings of depression and anxiety about their appearance and there’s growing concern about how social media may be altering the mental health of kids around the world.
Questions emailed to TikTok about which filters specifically will be limited to adults did not receive a response, but the Guardian reports a filter like Bold Glamour will be unavailable to kids. The filter was introduced in early 2023 and became controversial for creating unrealistic beauty standards, according to NPR. Filters that only apply makeup but don’t make what look like structural changes to a person’s face will still be allowed for teens, according to the news outlet.
The announcement is part of a crackdown on kids under the age of 13 using social media, which TikTok says it’s trying to stop. The 1-billion-user social media platform has a minimum age requirement of 13, which is pretty standard in the U.S. for similar tech. The company has also announced a plan to utilize artificial intelligence to make sure kids under 13 aren’t using TikTok.
“This technology will help detect accounts that may belong to someone under 13 so that a specially trained moderator can review the account and remove it if they believe someone doesn’t meet our minimum age,” TikTok said in a statement. “Like today, people will be able to appeal if they think we’ve made a mistake.”
The changes come as the fate of TikTok still remains unclear in the U.S., as former and future president Donald Trump prepares to take office on Jan. 20, 2025. Trump had previously railed against TikTok’s parent company ByteDance for being based in China, even going so far as to sign an executive order to force the company to divest or be banned in the U.S. But that order was challenged in court and dropped by the Biden administration before a new law banning the site was passed.
Now, nobody knows what will happen since Trump himself has pulled a 180 and now supports TikTok being allowed to operate in the country. Trump insists it’s all about competition with social media platforms like Facebook, but there’s reasonable speculation it might have more to do with a Republican megadonor having a huge stake in ByteDance. It looks like we’ll find out soon.
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