TikTok: Let parents see what kids see; Mirror kids’ accounts for parents
Shou Zi Chew, CEO, TikTok
TikTok is full of bullying, sexual predators, and harmful content encouraging violence and self-harm. And even though it’s one of the most popular platforms for kids, TikTok makes it extremely difficult for parents to keep kids safe. Unlike other platforms where someone’s content feed is based on the accounts and hashtags they follow, TikTok uses an opaque algorithm to choose what to show kids. That means parents have no way of knowing what their kids see.
TikTok should add a feature that allows parents to see exactly what TikTok is showing their children. These mirror accounts would allow parents to intervene in dangerous situations and talk to their children about harmful content, like extreme dieting, life-threatening behavior, and white supremacist material.
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To:
Shou Zi Chew, CEO, TikTok
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Ms. Pappas,
Parents play a critical role in keeping kids safe from online harms like cyberbullying, sexual predators, and violent or extremist content. But parents can’t protect kids if they can’t see what their kids see. TikTok’s recommendation algorithm makes it uniquely difficult for parents to see kids’ feeds. Please, help parents keep kids safe by creating parent mirror accounts -- settings that would allow parents to see the same feeds their kids see.