On February 9, TikTok will disconnect all Italian profiles of the app and users will have to log in again and declare their age: here’s why
A mass disconnection on February 9 for Italian users of TikTok. The popular Chinese short video app is responding with this move to the measure issued by the Italian Privacy Guarantor, which requested the blocking of data processing for all users whose age is not verified with certainty.
TikTok has entered the crosshairs of the Italian Guarantor after the case of the little girl who died in Palermo on January 22 during a challenge launched by other users in the Chinese social network. The great diffusion of the app among children and teenagers has raised in the Privacy Guarantor fears for these users, giving TikTok until February 15 to solve the problem of age verification of accounts. On February 9, all Italian profiles will have to log in again, indicating their age. A mild measure, since those who are under 13 years old will still be able to declare a higher age in order not to have their profile removed.
TikTok: what happens on February 9
Whoever owns an Italian TikTok profile will be blocked by the app on February 9. In fact, Italian users will have to log back into the app and re-declare their age in order to access it. If the user declares to be more than 13 years old, the account will be unlocked and he will be able to access his profile and use the app regularly.
If instead the user declares to be less than 13 years old, his previous account will not only remain locked, but will be automatically deleted from the platform. TikTok will then base the removal or confirmation of the account based only on the declaration of the individual user, without imposing further in-depth age verification methods.
TikTok, the measures to avoid the block
The Chinese app is ready to implement the necessary measures to avoid the block in Italy after the measure issued by the Privacy Guarantor. The disconnection of Italian profiles on February 9 is only the first step, which is still considered an ineffective response: anyone under the age of 13 will be able to lie about their date of birth, as they have often done, in order to keep their account active.
This is not the only measure implemented: last January 25, the app announced it would introduce a new button to flag users who appear to be under 13. In addition, TikTok is committed to doubling the number of Italian moderators, so as to intercept dangerous content, such as some challenges that are spreading among young people.
TikTok, age verification with artificial intelligence
Among other measures being considered by TikTok, there is also the use of artificial intelligence for “age verification” processes, i.e. age certification by the app. The artificial intelligence will be able to determine the user’s age group by analyzing behaviors and posts, taking advantage of profiling algorithms that are already used by the app to show users personalized advertisements.
In order to use AI, TikTok has committed to starting a discussion on the use of personal data with the Irish privacy watchdog, the country where the app has its registered office, while the Italian authority has promised to continue to monitor the app’s data processing until the issues that have emerged in recent months are resolved.