Apple knew TikTok was dangerous for kids, pushed to change age rating

It’s not a surprise that TikTok is facing lawsuits from Ontario school board. But it is interesting to find out that Apple acknowledged that TikTok was inappropriate for children and privately pushed the company to reconsider its recommended age rating.

In yet another case of documents being improperly redacted, some interesting findings have been revealed about TikTok and its relationship with Apple. Documents from an ongoing court case in South Carolina against TikTok showed that Apple assembled a team back in 2022 to review the app’s age rating. After inspection, Apple strongly recommended that TikTok raise its age rating from 12 and over to 17 and over. Their findings showed that the app had “frequent or intense mature or suggestive content,” which was not in line with TikTok’s own claims.

“We hope you will consider making the necessary changes to follow the App Store Review Guidelines and will resubmit,” Apple wrote at the time. This did not result in changes being made.

When looking at comparable apps, Reddit, Discord and X are recommended for users 17 and over. Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat, on the other hand, are recommended for users 12 and over. It’s unclear what separates the content of these apps in relation to their age ratings.

TikTok is currently waging war both in the court of law and the court of public opinion. Though it is the most used app in the world at the moment, its safety, especially for children and teenagers, has been called into question. And that’s not to mention the security risks associated with the service.

This all comes amid a bevy of other documents revealing that the company is aware that its “time limit tool” is ineffective and that younger audiences are their most vulnerable. Only time will tell whether the app will be banned or not. For now, it’s probably safer to just scroll through MobileSyrup.

Via: Engadget