Did you know TikTok Faces Mega Lawsuit For Misleading Age Labels Across App Stores
Social media giant TikTok is currently under scrutiny from Iowa’s
Attorney General who accused the company of putting out apps with
misleading age labeling.
The lawsuit
was rolled out in the firm’s direction which spoke about how the
platform exposed minors to all sorts of explicit material linked to
suggestive themes, alcohol, drugs, and more explicit findings.
In
the same way, prosecutors added how such acts are misleading parents
too because it keeps them in the dark in terms of how their kids are
exposed to so much yet they are unaware of it. From abuse and self-harm
to sexually themed material, it’s getting worse with time, they added.
More light was also shed on how the company sneaked past all types of
parental blocks by misrepresenting the degree of the content on display.
TikTok mentioned how it’s a suitable app for all kinds of audiences that
are above the age of 12. While the platform did claim it was a platform
for those above the age of 12, the material on display was more for
those who were 17 and above and that’s so shocking.
Those that
do have the 12+ labeling for age groups on them must be accessed by
those above the age of 17. So such a filing argued that TikTok’s right
age rating would be 17 years and above.
Apps having 12+ ratings on them were classified as featuring
inappropriate content to a lesser degree. But he also mentioned how
TikTok’s content was not accessible easily.
The massive court
filing also goes on to speak about how the app is rated incorrectly
across the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. And even in
Microsoft’s STore where there is a T rating for Teens that isn’t right.
More
shocking investigations into the company proved how the app is offering
recipes for self-harm, drugs, alcohol, profanity, and beyond. It’s just
wrong to see such unlawful acts get markets by the leading company’s
algorithm. And that’s especially true because of how popular it is for
those who are categorized as the youth.
Seeing the app’s own
Restricted Mode falling short of things like stopping content from
getting available online to younger audiences is another alarming
endeavor altogether.
Therefore, the whole purpose of the lawsuit
was to stop the leading app from being deemed suitable for the youth
while penalizing it for actions so that it and others steer clear of
this kind of behavior in the future.
So we’re expecting to see a host of legal charges and penalties take
center stage. As far as content on the app is concerned, there are all
types of themes being promoted. But if kids are going to be exposed to
harmful dealings, then it’s not going to be tolerated. And if the app
denies it, stating that the themes in question are mild and infrequent,
then that again is a huge lie, not to mention a misrepresentation of
what the reality is.
But TikTok is not backing down. It refused
to accept all of the allegations, boldly claiming that it was working
hard to curb such matters to begin with. They have industry-leading
safeguards in place to protect minors at all costs. This includes
parental controls as well as time restrictions that are working for
those below the age of 18. Similarly, they are committed to ensuring
community safety as their top priority.
In case you’re
wondering, this is not the first time that the tech giant has been
called out. Many also have concerns about data sharing with those in
China, especially US lawmakers who have blasted the app in this regard.
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