The clock is Tikking on tweens’ social media use.
Amid government-sponsored social media clampdowns, TikTok is rolling out a new AI-powered age-detection tech across Europe that allows it to identify and purge accounts belonging to kids under the age of 13.
The new AI age control system analyzes profile info, posted clips, and posting patterns to determine if an account belongs to someone underage, the tech firm declared in a press blog post.
When an account is flagged by the digital filtration system, it will be reviewed by specialist moderators, who will assess whether it should be banned.
“At TikTok, we’re committed to keeping children under the age of 13 off our platform, providing teens with age-appropriate experiences and continuing to assess and implement a range of solutions,” TikTok declared. “We believe that a multi-layered approach to age assurance — one in which multiple techniques are used — is essential to protecting teens and upholding safety-by-design principles.”
The Post reached out to TikTok for comment.
The move, which was built in collaboration with the Data Protection Commission of Ireland in accordance with stringent European privacy laws, follows a yearlong pilot in Europe that saw thousands of underage accounts get culled.
While the measure might seem like a digital fine-toothed comb, TikTok even acknowledged that no age-detection system is airtight.
“Despite best efforts, there remains no globally agreed-upon method for effectively confirming a person’s age in a way that also preserves their privacy,” the platform declared.
In accordance, users who believe they’ve been wrongfully removed can appeal by providing a government-approved ID, a credit card authorization or a selfie for age estimation.
The rollout comes as countries around the world increasingly clamp down on tween TikTok use, which has been shown to up the risk of depression and anxiety by exposing children to harmful content related to suicide, eating disorders and more.
Last year, Australia enacted the world’s first ban on social media for kids under 16.
This sparked an outcry from Meta, which removed 544,052 suspected under-16 accounts across Instagram, Facebook and Threads between Dec. 4 and Dec. 11 as the nation’s age restriction kicked in.
“We call on the Australian government to engage with industry constructively to find a better way forward, such as incentivising all of industry to raise the standard in providing safe, privacy-preserving, age-appropriate experiences online, instead of blanket bans,” reps for the tech giant declared.
They also felt that the measure would create a “whack-a-mole effect” where teens simply jumped to the next platform.
And it’s not just those across the pond mulling a moratorium on TikTok. In 2024, then-President Joe Biden set a TikTok ban through the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.
However, President Donald Trump issued five executive orders postponing the measure, most recently in the fall, when he pushed it back to Jan. 23, 2026, amid trade deals with China.
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