STOCKHOLM, Jan 16 — TikTok will begin rolling out a new age-detection system across Europe in the coming weeks as it steps up efforts to identify and remove accounts linked to children under the age of 13, the company said on Friday, responding to mounting regulatory scrutiny of social media platforms.
How the System Works
The technology follows a year-long pilot programme in Europe and is designed to flag accounts that may belong to underage users. The system reviews a mix of profile information, posted videos and behavioural patterns. Accounts identified by the tool will be assessed by specialist moderators, rather than being taken down automatically.
Regulatory and Global Context
The move comes as European regulators intensify their focus on how digital platforms verify users’ ages while complying with strict data-protection laws. Policymakers have warned that many existing methods either fail to prevent underage access or rely on data collection practices seen as overly intrusive.
Pressure on social media companies has also been rising globally. Australia last year introduced the world’s first ban on social media use for children under 16. In Europe, lawmakers in the European Parliament are pushing for tougher age limits, while Denmark has proposed restricting access to social media for users younger than 15.
Pilot Results and Verification Methods
TikTok stated that a pilot of the technology in the UK resulted in the removal of thousands of additional accounts belonging to users under 13. Still, the company acknowledged that there is no universally accepted way to confirm a person’s age while fully protecting user privacy.
When users appeal account removals, TikTok said it will rely on facial age-estimation technology from verification firm Yoti, as well as credit-card checks and government-issued identification. Meta Platforms also uses Yoti to verify users’ ages on Facebook, according to the company.
The new TikTok system was built specifically to meet European regulatory requirements and that it worked with Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, its lead privacy regulator in the European Union, during development. European users will be notified as the technology is introduced.