Amnesty International (AI) warned today that the social network TikTok intends to “make money from teenagers’ insecurities”.
“TikTok creates a mental prison for our young people, manipulating their brains, because its objective is to make money and exploit young people’s insecurities for maximum profit,” said one of the report’s participants Stéphanie Mistre, whose daughter committed suicide at the age of 15, in 2021, after becoming addicted to the social network.
The report, “Stuck in the Rabbit Hole”, urges the French government and the European Commission to adopt “urgent measures to finally make TikTok a safe platform for young people in the European Union (EU) and around the world”.
One of the suggestions presented in the document is to modify the algorithm that, according to AI, leads to the viewing of content that incites self-harm or suicide.
The publication of the AI report comes a month after an inquiry commission of the French National Assembly recommended a ban on social media for children under 15 and the imposition of a “digital curfew” for young people aged 15 to 18.