The list of regulators’ child-safety investigations into TikTok has lengthened again. This time it’s the UK’s communications and media watchdog Ofcom holding the app to account.
It has opened an investigation under the UK’s Online Safety Act, following a review of the steps taken by various social-media platforms to protect children.
Well, that and also another report highlighting “concerns about children being exposed to harmful content on TikTok”; and a third report suggesting that “age inference” models – where a platform guesses someone’s age by their behaviour and habits – may not be up to scratch.
“This investigation will seek to establish whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that TikTok has failed, or is failing, to comply with its legal obligations as set out above, including by using age assurance that is highly effective at correctly determining whether or not a particular user is a child,” announced Ofcom.
If TikTok is found liable, the watchdog has the power to fine it up to £18m or 10% of its global revenue. Estimates of the latter have tended to be in the mid-thirty billions of dollars, as a guide.
The news came as research firm WARC Media predicted that TikTok will overtake YouTube for global advertising revenue by 2030. How big a chunk of those revenues will need to be spent on fines from regulators though?
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