TikTok has announced an update to the minimum age
requirement for hosting livestreams in the app, which is now 18 years. Previously,
users were allowed to host Lives at a minimum age of 16. TikTok further adds
that “younger teens need to be aged 16 or older to access Direct Messaging and
18 or older to send virtual gifts or access monetization features.”
The video-sharing platform has taken the age limit into consideration after it received criticism from the public for incentivizing young people on its app to share provocative and other potentially risky content for the sake of getting fame and making money.
In addition to that, TikTok is also ensuring that users
under 18 years of age aren’t exposed to content that is potentially inappropriate
for their age. For that reason, it has launched a new audience control setting
for livestreaming that allows hosts to make their Lives viewable to adult
audiences only.
In another announcement, the platform has revealed that Live broadcasters could now rely on reminders that will suggest key terms that they may want to add to their filter list that helps avoiding unwanted comments. Additionally, broadcasters will also be able to add up to five guests to their Live at a time using a grid or panel layout, which is an expansion of the Multi-Guest feature for TikTok Live.
