TikTok is going to block beauty filters for minors

Social media significantly affects the mental health of young people, which is why international organizations are pressuring companies like Instagram or TikTok to take proactive measures to protect their users.

In the case of TikTok, one of the measures they have decided to take is to ban beauty filters (filters that are activated in the app when the phone’s camera is turned on to conceal any imperfections on the face and artificially modify users’ faces), for teenagers.

That is to say, in the coming weeks, those under 18 will not be able to artificially enlarge their eyes, fill their lips, or change their skin tone. We must start loving ourselves as we are.

TikTok to block teenagers from beauty filters over mental health concerns

Social media platform under pressure to improve security as it announces plans to block under-13s from signing uphttps://t.co/KOdGHs14qu

— CyberSafeKids (@CyberSafeKidsIE) November 27, 2024

Children at the center of the debate: should young people be allowed to use TikTok?

The restrictions will apply to filters like Bold Glamour, which modify children’s features in a way that makeup cannot. However, comedic filters that add bunny ears or dog noses will not be affected.

The social media company, which has billions of users, announced the changes during a security forum held at its European headquarters in Dublin.

The effectiveness of the restrictions will depend on people using the platform with their real age, which is not always the case.

There is growing concern that beauty filters have led to pressure on teenagers, especially girls, to adopt a polished physical appearance with negative emotional repercussions. Some young people have described how after using filters they found their real face ugly.

TikTok also announced that it was strengthening its systems to block users under 13 years old from the platform, which could mean that thousands of British children are expelled from the platform. Before the end of the year, it will launch a test of new automated systems that use machine learning to detect people who bypass their age restrictions.

The measure comes at a time when stricter regulation of social media use by minors is looming in the UK, under the Online Safety Act. The platform already removes 20 million accounts worldwide each quarter for being underage.