Ofcom says TikTok's "age inference" method is insufficient for protecting children
The UK’s online regulator, Ofcom, opened an investigation into popular Chinese video-sharing app TikTok on Thursday, citing child safety concerns.
It said the investigation, under the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA), will examine whether TikTok has adequate age checks to protect children from seeing harmful content on the service, including pornography and material relating to eating disorders, self-harm and suicide.
The OSA requires social media companies to use highly effective age checks if they host such content on their platforms. TikTok currently uses an “age inference” technique for age checks, which analyses users’ digital behaviour and activity on the platform to determine whether they’re 18+ or not.
However, Ofcom’s guidance does not name age inference as one of its preferred form of age checks. It previously found the technology to be ineffective, saying such checks failed to correctly identify a significant proportion of children.
