TikTok bans under-13 users in Italy following death of 10-year old girl

As per sources, the Italian regulator confirmed that TikTok will block all accounts in Italy from February 09 using artificial intelligence to detect under-age accounts.

Reportedly, TikTok has been under intense scrutiny in Italy since the death of a minor girl who allegedly participated in an online choking game.

On January 22, when the case emerged, the privacy watchdog temporarily blocked access to TikTok users whose age could not be proved.

The app will readmit only those users who will be at least 13 years old. Prosecutors in Palermo are investigating that case, which has led to increased scrutiny of children’s use of social media platforms.

TikTok's Head of Child Safety in Europe, Alexandra Evans has said that the app will also introduce a button to enable members to report users who appeared to be under 13.

TikTok owned by Chinese company ByteDance is the social media platform which is used to make a variety of short-form videos, from genres like dance, comedy, and education that have a duration from three seconds to one minute.