TikTok to Introduce New Age-Detection Technology Across Europe
TikTok will begin rolling out new age-detection technology across Europe in the coming weeks, the company confirmed on Friday. The move comes as the ByteDance-owned platform faces mounting regulatory pressure to strengthen its efforts in identifying and removing accounts belonging to children under 13.
A New System to Detect Underage Users
The new system, which has not been reported previously, follows a year-long pilot programme in Europe. It analyses user profiles, uploaded videos, and behavioural signals to assess whether an account may belong to someone underage. Accounts flagged by the system will be reviewed by trained moderators rather than being automatically suspended, TikTok explained.
The company said the system was developed specifically for European regulations and involved cooperation with Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, its lead EU privacy authority. European users will receive notifications once the technology begins operating.
Regulatory Pressure and Regional Responses
The rollout comes as European regulators intensify scrutiny of how social media platforms verify users’ ages under strict data-protection laws. Authorities have expressed concerns that current verification measures are either insufficient or excessively intrusive.
Globally, governments are taking tougher stances on youth access to social media. Australia introduced the world’s first social media ban for children under 16 in 2023, while the European Parliament is debating similar restrictions. Denmark has also proposed banning social media for users younger than 15.
During TikTok’s UK pilot, thousands of additional accounts belonging to children under 13 were removed, underscoring the scale of the challenge.
Addressing Privacy and Verification Challenges
TikTok acknowledged that no universal, privacy-preserving method exists to verify a user’s age reliably. To handle appeals against account bans, the company plans to use facial-age estimation provided by verification firm Yoti, as well as credit-card checks and government-issued identification.
Meta also employs Yoti’s verification tools for Facebook users, reflecting a wider industry move towards AI-driven age estimation.
TikTok maintains that its latest system aims to balance user privacy with compliance and safety, in line with Europe’s evolving digital regulations.
with inputs from Reuters
