Video-sharing app TikTok has introduced an age gate feature for new users, which will only allow those aged 13 years and above to create an account, the company said in a press release on Monday. TikTok, owned by China’s Bytedance, also declared that it has removed more than six million videos that were in violation of its community guidelines, since July 2018. TikTok claims that its content moderation strategy combines content moderation technology with a human moderation team to effectively police offending content. This team is said to be based in more than 20 countries, including India, and covers major Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Gujarati. The app was banned by the Madras High Court earlier this month, chiefly on the ground that it posed a danger to children. In February, TikTok was fined $5.7 million by the US Federal Trade Commission for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting personal information of children below 13 years without parental consent. The Madras HC ban Earlier this month, the Madras High Court directed the Indian government to ban the download of TikTok, as an interim measure, to prevent new users from downloading the app. It directed the media to stop showcasing videos from TikTok, and the Government of India enact a law on the lines of USA's COPPA. It said the app contained “degrading culture”, and that it encouraged pornography and pedophilia. We argued that the ban seems to be a disproportionate act of censorship by the HC. As of…
