Rashidat Olushola Writes
If you are familiar with TikTok, you’ll know that TikTok shows you very personalised content in your ‘For You’ feed. Sometimes, when I’m simply using the app for my own entertainment, I can see the feed becoming more aligned with my mood. I can tell TikTok is making predictions about me to show me personalised content on my feed. I end up feeling stuck on TikTok, endlessly scrolling, and scrolling, and scrolling. Even if I feel like it’s starting to affect my mental health…
The truth is that TikTok has created its platform to be addictive by design. TikTok wants us to keep scrolling because it makes money by collecting data about us, such as who we are and what we like, and then targeting us with ads. But in doing so, TikTok threatens our rights to privacy, health, and freedom of thought. And children are no exception. As well as children having their data exploited for the sake of profit, the personalised content that TikTok shows children to keep them addicted can sometimes be harmful. In fact, when younger users signal an interest in mental health content, they risk being easily led down rabbit holes of depressive and self-harm content. All for the sake of… advertising?
While TikTok is taking steps to respect the rights of younger users in Europe by banning targeted personalised ads aimed at them, it still allows this in the rest of the world, where the rights of younger users are seemingly less valued.
TikTok can do, and should do, so much better by making this ban global.
And sign the petition now to tell TikTok to make its platform safer for younger users!
