TikTok recommends porn and highly sexualised content to children, says report

[essentialsaltes]

In late July and early August this year, researchers from campaign group Global Witness set up four accounts on TikTok pretending to be 13-year-olds.

They also turned on the platform's "restricted mode", which TikTok says prevents users seeing "mature or complex themes, such as… sexually suggestive content".

Without doing any searches themselves, investigators found overtly sexualised search terms being recommended in the "you may like" section of the app.

At its most extreme, the content included explicit pornographic films of penetrative sex.

These videos were embedded in other innocent content in a successful attempt to avoid content moderation.

Ava Lee from Global Witness said the findings came as a "huge shock" to researchers.

"TikTok isn't just failing to prevent children from accessing inappropriate content - it's suggesting it to them as soon as they create an account".

They informed TikTok, which said it had taken immediate action to resolve the problem.

But in late July and August this year, the campaign group repeated the exercise and found once again that the app was recommending sexual content.

 

[RileyG]

Awful, but not surprising

 

[BCP1928]

Awful, but not surprising

The only problem is how to blame "The Left" for it.

 

[lismore]

Ava Lee from Global Witness said the findings came as a "huge shock" to researchers.

Unless it was their first time on the net I don't see how this would come as a shock. Even innocuous sites push weird and explicit pop ups, gambling promotion is another shocker. Kind regards.

 

[GoldenBoy89]

No calls for boycott from prominent right wing influencers?

 

[Hvizsgyak]

No calls for boycott from prominent right wing influencers?

I don't think anybody from the right wing uses TikTok (except maybe their kids and they probably don't let their parents know they are using it). If they do, "BOYCOTT IT NOW!!!". How was that? I personally would not allow a kid to have a cell phone until they are at least in High School. Unfortunately, most people would disagree with me so I'll have to pass my complaint onto Trump and see if he can executive order that proposal .

 

[RileyG]

The only problem is how to blame "The Left" for it.

It’s a societal problem. Not political.

 

[Servus]

The only problem is how to blame "The Left" for it.

The left in general has become known for promoting sexualized content for children because it's supposed to be progressive.\

It’s a societal problem. Not political.

It is political though. The pitch is 'vote for us because we support progressive ideas like sexualized content for children'.

 

[BCP1928]

The left in general has become known for promoting sexualized content for children because it's supposed to be progressive.\
It is political though. The pitch is 'vote for us because we support progressive ideas like sexualized content for children'.

Vote for us because we don't support the Right's ideas of sexualizing children.

 

[Trogdor the Burninator]

Unless it was their first time on the net I don't see how this would come as a shock. Even innocuous sites push weird and explicit pop ups, gambling promotion is another shocker. Kind regards.

Another reason to adblock everything

 

[Servus]

Vote for us because we don't support the Right's ideas of sexualizing children.

Yep that too. It's just "progress". It's the new normal for little kids to know about being umpteen different genders and sexual orientations. "I'm an 8 year old non-binary gender-fluid two-spirit omnisexual".