Age verification

UK investigates TikTok over protection of minors

The UK has tightened its laws on the protection of minors on the internet. Among other things, platforms have to check the age of their users.(Bild: APA/Marijan Murat)

The UK has launched investigations into the online networks TikTok, Reddit and Imgur for allegedly failing to protect minors. The British consumer protection authority announced on Monday that the former is investigating how the short video app uses the personal data of underage users to offer them content. 

In the case of the discussion forum Reddit and the photo platform Imgur, however, the question is how these platforms determine the age of their users. "If we find sufficient evidence that any of these companies have broken the law, we will contact them and seek their views before reaching a final decision," the authority said.

Imgur, TikTok and TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance were initially unavailable for comment. Reddit emphasized that the majority of users in the discussion forums are adults. However, changes would be introduced over the course of the year in order to comply with legal age verification requirements.

Algorithms are to be "tamed"
The UK has tightened its laws on the protection of minors on the internet. Among other things, platforms must check the age of their users. According to a draft law, they should also "tame" their algorithms in order to filter out content that is harmful or inappropriate for minors.

Online networks use complex mathematical formulas to suggest new content to users. The aim is to keep them on the platform for as long as possible. Two years ago, British authorities fined TikTok the equivalent of a good 15 million euros because the Chinese company had used data from children under the age of 13 without their parents' consent.