{"id":2868,"date":"2020-02-28T10:12:44","date_gmt":"2020-02-28T15:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/?p=2868"},"modified":"2020-02-28T10:13:00","modified_gmt":"2020-02-28T15:13:00","slug":"tiktok-social-media-magnet-pedophiles-predators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2020\/02\/28\/tiktok-social-media-magnet-pedophiles-predators\/","title":{"rendered":"TikTok: A Social Media Magnet for Pedophiles and Predators?"},"content":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s a fact: China\u2019s platform, TikTok<\/a>, is a social media channel many young ladies between 13-24 engage with every day. In a short period, it has amassed more than 500 million worldwide users.<\/p>\n TikTok allows users to create short, entertaining videos. What draws young girls to the platform? It may be that many of their friends are also on it. It\u2019s entertaining to make lip-syncing and dancing videos they share with their fans. The personalized \u201cFor You\u201d page keeps them returning as well.<\/p>\n However, much like other platforms, it\u2019s riddled with privacy holes. Of particular concern is the trolling of pedophiles and predators on this site.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n After the US government levied the fine, TikTok made some changes. In my opinion, it has not gone far enough. Here\u2019s what they did.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n With the newest version of TikTok comes a parental control safety feature. Parents will download the app and sync it to their children\u2019s app. Then they can:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The intent is to let parents have ultimate control of their children\u2019s accounts to keep potentially harmful content from their child\u2019s view.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTikTok is not a safe app, and there are many concerns, not the least bullying and grooming by predators. Any app that allows communication can be used by predators,\u201d stated Susan McLean, a cyber safety specialist.<\/p>\n She went on to say, \u201cTikTok does not have the same safety sessions as some of the more well-known apps and routinely does not remove accounts that have been flagged.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Even with their new safety initiatives, I still believe TikTok is a risky platform for girls under 18 years of age for three reasons: 1) Even with the latest safety regulations, there still isn\u2019t enough corporate oversight 2) It can be a bullying platform and 3) In the age of Human Trafficking<\/a>, pedophiles use it to recruit young girls.<\/p>\n Until TikTok does more, I\u2019d recommend banning the app from your child\u2019s phone. Also, it\u2019s always wise to have access to other social apps they may use to communicate with their peers to ensure they are not bullying others or being bullied themselves.<\/p>\n For more information about ways I might be able to help your organization or group, please check out my Social Media<\/a> training page.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s a fact: China\u2019s platform, TikTok, is a social media channel many young ladies between 13-24 engage with every day. In a short period, it has amassed more than 500 million worldwide users. TikTok allows users to create short, entertaining videos. What draws young girls to the platform? It may be that many of their friends are also on it. It\u2019s entertaining to make lip-syncing and dancing videos they share with their fans. The personalized \u201cFor You\u201d page keeps them returning as well. However, much like other platforms, it\u2019s riddled with privacy holes. Of particular concern is the trolling of<\/p>\nTikTok Troubles<\/h2>\n
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TikTok New Safety Features to Guard against Predators<\/h2>\n
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One Expert\u2019s Conclusion<\/h2>\n
My Take on TikTok and Other Social Platforms<\/h2>\n