Posted: February 8th, 2024

How do TikTok’s content moderation and age verification mechanisms

Main Reserahc Question

Research Question: “How do TikTok’s content moderation and age verification mechanisms impact free speech and child safety, and how do these measures align or conflict with existing legal and ethical standards in the digital media landscape?”

PART 2 that we are handling in 5 pages

II. Examination of TikTok’s Content Moderation Policies (5 pages)

A. Description of Current Policies: Discuss specific content moderation policies of TikTok.

B. Impact on Free Speech: Analyze how these policies affect user expression and free speech.

C. Legal and Ethical Analysis: (Keep in mind – it’s the U.S. common law) (This is important in length – 3 pages)

Evaluate the alignment or conflict of these policies with legal standards (e.g., copyright laws, defamation) and ethical considerations.

II. Examination of TikTok’s Content Moderation Policies
A. Description of Current Policies
Short-form video platform TikTok has developed a robust set of Community Guidelines to outline what type of content is and is not allowed on the platform. According to TikTok’s Community Guidelines webpage (TikTok, 2022), the platform prohibits any content that is illegal, misleading, discriminatory, threatening, abusive, harassing, or promotes dangerous activities. Specifically, TikTok bans nudity, dangerous organizations, regulated goods, hate speech or bullying, and graphic content from the platform.
TikTok utilizes both automated tools and human moderators to detect and remove content that violates these Community Guidelines. On their transparency webpage about content moderation, TikTok (2022) explains that videos uploaded to the platform are screened using image and audio recognition technology to check for banned imagery or audio. This automated screening helps moderators quickly find problematic videos. In addition, user reports allow other community members to flag videos that may violate guidelines for review by moderators.
If a violation is found after screening or a user report, the offending content is removed from public view on TikTok. The account that posted the content also faces consequences, typically receiving a “strike” on their account that remains for 90 days (TikTok, 2022). Repeated offenses and egregious violations can lead to longer temporary bans or even permanent removal from the platform. TikTok’s content moderation policies aim to curb illegal or harmful material while still allowing for an open creative community.
B. Impact on Free Speech
While necessary to prevent the spread of illegal or dangerous content, TikTok’s broad content policies do restrict a wide range of legal expression on the platform. As Tassi (2021) notes, banning “misleading” information is a vague guideline that leaves much open to subjective interpretation by moderators. Additionally, prohibiting “dangerous” activities could see educational or instructional videos removed without proper context. TikTok’s ban on “graphic content” may remove newsworthy or artistically valuable videos from public view.
The community guidelines’ restrictions on “hate speech” and content that bullies or harasses others also require moderators to make judgment calls about intent and real-world impact that affect lawful political or social commentary (Tassi, 2021). If enforced overly aggressively or inconsistently across cultural contexts, these policies could disproportionately censor legal speech and opinions. However, as a private company, TikTok is not bound by the First Amendment right to free expression in the same way as governments (Tassi, 2021). The platform has broad discretion to set and enforce its own rules.
C. Legal and Ethical Analysis (3 pages)
Generally, TikTok’s content policies align with existing U.S. laws regarding prohibited online material. For example, banning illegal content like child pornography is legally required under statutes like COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act). Restricting copyrighted content from being posted or used without permission upholds intellectual property law. Prohibiting threats of violence or harassment on the platform prevents unlawful behavior.
However, policies against “misleading” information or promotion of “dangerous” activities may conflict with ethical standards of free expression if enforced too broadly without context. As the American Civil Liberties Union notes, overly aggressive removal of any legal content, especially newsworthy or educational material, could be seen as a form of censorship (ACLU, 2016). Private companies still have responsibilities regarding freedom of information and discourse online.
TikTok’s community guidelines should aim to balance child safety concerns with open exchange of ideas by considering cultural and regional differences in how certain topics, images or speech may be interpreted. Transparency into the training and oversight of content moderators is also important, as human judgment and potential biases could result in unfair, disproportionate or inconsistent restrictions of lawful speech (Kadri & Katsabian, 2019).
Overall, as a private platform TikTok retains wide authority over acceptable user-generated content. However, overly broad interpretation and enforcement of guidelines risk legal challenges if they appear to systematically censor particular viewpoints or demographics without sufficient transparency, oversight or avenues for appeal. Striking the right balance between protection and open expression remains an ongoing challenge at the intersection of law, ethics and business interests.
In summary, this paper examined TikTok’s current content moderation policies, their potential impacts on free expression, and analyzed how the guidelines align with or could conflict with existing U.S. legal and ethical standards regarding online speech and information access. As the short-form video platform continues to evolve, maintaining transparency while balancing child safety, cultural understanding and open discourse will be important ongoing considerations.

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TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, especially among young people. However, it also faces many challenges and controversies regarding its content moderation and age verification mechanisms, which have implications for free speech and child safety, as well as legal and ethical standards in the digital media landscape.

Content moderation refers to the process of reviewing, filtering, and removing content that violates the platform’s community guidelines, terms of service, or applicable laws. TikTok claims that it uses a combination of human reviewers and automated systems to moderate content, and that it notifies creators of the removal reason and provides a way to appeal. However, some critics argue that TikTok’s content moderation is inconsistent, opaque, and biased, and that it fails to address the harms caused by misinformation, hate speech, cyberbullying, sexual exploitation, and other forms of abusive or inappropriate content .

Age verification refers to the process of verifying the age of users to ensure that they meet the minimum age requirement to join the platform, which is 13 years old in most countries. TikTok says that it uses methods and processes to detect and remove underage users, such as requiring a valid ID or phone number during sign-up, or using behavioral signals and reports from other users. However, some critics contend that TikTok’s age verification is ineffective, easy to circumvent, and inadequate to protect children from exposure to harmful content or contact with predators .

Free speech is the right to express one’s opinions and ideas without fear of censorship or retaliation. TikTok says that it respects and supports free speech, and that it only removes content that violates its community guidelines or local laws. However, some critics accuse TikTok of suppressing or favoring certain types of content or users based on political, commercial, or ideological interests . For example, TikTok has been accused of censoring content related to human rights issues in China, where it operates under a different name and app called Douyin.

Child safety is the protection of children from physical, emotional, or sexual harm or exploitation. TikTok says that it is committed to child safety, and that it offers various features and tools to help parents and guardians monitor and control their children’s online activity. For example, TikTok has a Family Pairing feature that allows parents to link their accounts with their children’s accounts and set limits on screen time, direct messages, comments, and content ratings. However, some critics warn that TikTok’s child safety measures are insufficient, voluntary, and reactive, and that they do not prevent children from accessing or creating content that is inappropriate for their age or maturity level .

Legal and ethical standards are the rules and principles that govern the conduct and behavior of individuals and organizations in the digital media landscape. TikTok says that it complies with all applicable laws and regulations in the markets where it operates, and that it adheres to high ethical standards in its policies and practices. However, some critics challenge TikTok’s legal and ethical compliance, and claim that it violates or undermines the rights and interests of its users, creators, competitors, regulators, or other stakeholders . For example, TikTok has been sued for allegedly infringing on intellectual property rights, collecting personal data without consent, engaging in unfair competition practices, or endangering national security interests.

In conclusion, TikTok’s content moderation and age verification mechanisms have a significant impact on free speech and child safety, as well as legal and ethical standards in the digital media landscape. While TikTok claims that it strives to balance these competing interests and values in a responsible and transparent manner, it also faces many criticisms and challenges from various parties who have different expectations and demands from the platform. Therefore, TikTok needs to constantly review and improve its mechanisms to ensure that they are effective, consistent,
and aligned with its vision and mission.

Bibliography

[1] A. Belanger. Mourning parents asked TikTok for age verification,
got maturity ratings instead [Updated]. Ars Technica,
2022. URL: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/07/after-child-deaths-tiktok-adds-maturity-ratings-not-age-verification/.

[2] S. Perez. TikTok updates its policies with focus on minor
and LGBTQ safety,
age appropriate content
and more. TechCrunch,
2022. URL: https://techcrunch.com/2022/02/08/tiktok-updates-its-policies-with-focus-on-minor-safety-age-appropriate-content-and-more/.

[3] TikTok. Our approach to content moderation.
TikTok,
2022. URL: https://www.tiktok.com/transparency/en-us/content-moderation/.

[4] TikTok. Community Guidelines.
TikTok,
2022. URL: https://www.tiktok.com/community-guidelines/en/?lang%3Den=.

[5] TikTok. Family Pairing.
TikTok,
2022. URL: https://www.tiktok.com/safety/resources/family-pairing?lang=en.

[6] TikTok. Content Levels.
TikTok,
2022. URL: https://www.tiktok.com/safety/resources/content-levels?lang=en.

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Study Notes & Homework Samples: IT441: Multimedia System Development »GNUR 577 Case Study Diagnostic Analysis Paper