CONNECT WITH US
Tech

Tech

Employees warned TikTok about child exploitation, court documents show

Engadget logo

Published on

Add as a preferred source on Google
Employees warned TikTok about child exploitation, court documents show

The company is facing hundreds of lawsuits over its record on safety.

Court documents are shedding new light on reported child safety issues at TikTok. According to depositions detailed by NPR, multiple employees repeatedly flagged serious flaws in the company's handling of child safety, including child exploitation, but were "frustrated" with TikTok's response.

The records are drawn from ongoing lawsuits the company is facing related to its handling of child safety. TikTok is the target of hundreds of such lawsuits, though it has settled some cases, including those making claims the app was designed to be pe addictive.

According to statements made by company employees, TikTok executives were notified that teens were regularly appearing in live streams in the app, which raised concerns about potential grooming and exploitation. After Forbes published an article in 2022 about teens stripping in TikTok Live videos in which viewers could pay for in-app "gifts," a safety employee said the company knew about such content. Employees also warned that the company was making "significant revenue" from live video content involving children even though TikTok's rules barred minors from appearing in them.

Other employees also flagged shortcomings in the company's parental controls and age-based safety features. For example, a "loophole" allowed minors to bypass TikTok's age checks if they signed up for with a Facebook, Instagram or Google account. The app also contained a "hidden link" that allowed teens to remove themselves from TikTok's "family pairing" feature.


Source link
Related Topics:Tech

Disclaimer

We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We TheMorningPulse.fyi want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It's possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.