One investigation revealed that the algorithm TikTok uses to decide which videos users will watch promotes sexual, drug and alcohol content to children up to 13 years old.
As part of the Wall Street Journal investigation, a 13-year-old user searched for “fans only” and watched a handful of videos, including two that sold pornography to the China-based social networking app.
Seeing the page for you, the TikTok version of the Twitter feed, showed the same teen user a series of sexually oriented videos.
The content displayed on the page for you is defined based on previous searches, as well as the types of content that are viewed most often or that a user spends more time looking at.
The more sexual content the user stayed on, the more sexual content was displayed on the page for you, even though the age of the users was defined on their profile.
TikTok said they are not currently differentiating between videos posted on accounts for adults and children, but are working on a new filter tool for younger accounts.
One investigation revealed that the algorithm TikTok uses to decide which videos users will watch promotes sexual (left), drug (right) and alcohol content to children up to 13 years old.
It was not a real 13-year-old boy who participated in the research, but a series of robots were created to better understand what TikTok shows to its younger viewers.
All automated accounts were set up between the ages of 13 and 15 to determine whether younger viewers receive a different feed from older TikTok users.
By constantly curing the AI-based algorithm, they found that feeds would focus more, delving into increasingly inappropriate content.
In one of the accounts, which claimed to belong to a 13-year-old boy, 569 videos on drug use were shown, including references to cocaine and methamphetamine addiction, as well as promotional videos for online sale. of drug products.
WSJ accounts also showed more than 100 videos promoting porn sites and sex shops from accounts tagged as adults only.
There were even videos that encouraged eating disorders, promoting alcohol consumption and other adult-oriented content.
WSJ reporters sent TikTok nearly 1,000 videos with drugs, porn and other adult-related content that had been shown on their bot accounts from 13 to 15 years old.
Of those videos, 255 were withdrawn shortly after they were sent to the Chinese-owned platform, including a dozen adults who had relationships with people who called themselves “small,” older adults who pretended to be children.
One of the people shown in a video of “role-playing games” aimed at adults, but shown in the accounts of “bot” teenagers, said that he clearly says that its content is greater than or equal to 18 years in the his biography.
“I’ve been in my biography for over 18 years, but I have no real way to control it,” he told the Wall Street Journal in a message, adding that he disagrees with its content being shown to someone so young.
A TikTok spokesman told the Journal that the firm removed some of the reported videos and restricted the distribution of others to prevent them from being recommended to other young users in the future, but it is unclear how many.
Pictured: A screenshot of pharmaceutical-themed content in the bot is shown in TikTok
Under the terms of the TikTok service, users must be at least 13 years old and, if they are under the age of 18, need parental permission, with parents able to manage their children’s screen time and privacy settings. the application.
“Protecting minors is vital and TikTok has taken the first steps in the industry to promote a safe and age-appropriate experience for teens,” TikTok said.
There were a total of 31 “bot” accounts used in the investigation, each with a date of birth and an IP address, without any other information being revealed to TikTok, other than the shared one when watching several videos during different periods of time.
A dozen of the 31 accounts quickly became a specific topic, as the selective algorithm tailored the page for you to the interests expressed above.
In one example, a story with a number of interests such as cartoons of Japanese movies and television, a series of 150 videos included 146 Japanese animations, including many with a sexual theme.
TikTok told the Journal that the behavior of robots in no way represents the behavior and visual experience of a real person.
This does not change adult-themed videos shown to children, as 40% of a stretch of 200 videos come from accounts tagged as adults only.
TikTok has to rely on algorithms and an army of 10,000 people to control the millions of videos shared on the service, including tens of thousands every minute.
As part of the Wall Street Journal investigation, a 13-year-old user searched for “fans only” and watched a handful of videos, including two that sold pornography.
A dozen of the 31 accounts quickly became a specific topic, as the selective algorithm adapted the page for you to interests expressed above.
With approximately 100 million users in the United States alone, moderators are struggling to keep up, so they need to focus on the most popular content, leaving videos with less counting unchecked views.
The company is slowly deploying a number of security features, including the ability for 16- and 17-year-olds to determine who can see their posts.
TikTok said content policies evolve in response to industry standards as well as changing user behavior.
He said that as users of the platform grow and diversify, the content on display as well as policies on acceptable use will change and adapt.
“While the resulting activity and experience of these robots in no way represent the behavior and viewing experience of a real person, we are continually working to improve our systems and review how to help prevent even all very unusual viewing habits that create negative cycles, especially for our younger users, ”a TikTok spokesman told MailOnline.
“We care deeply about the safety of minors, which is why we incorporate youth welfare into our policies, limit age functions, empower parents with tools and resources, and continue to invest in new ways to enjoy fitness-based content. of age or family comfort.