TikTok Adds New Parental Controls to Restrict Teens’ App Usage, Will Disable DMs for Users 16 and Under

variety.com:

By Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Popular short-form video app TikTok is giving parents and guardians in the U.S. new ways to curtail how teenage kids use the app, including what they can view and who can direct-message them.

And at the end of April, TikTok will completely turn off the ability for users 16 and younger to send or receive DMs. Starting April 30, TikTok will automatically disable direct messages for registered accounts under the age of 16, senior director of trust and safety Jeff Collins wrote in a blog post.

In the U.S., TikTok will roll out Family Pairing over the next few weeks, according to Collins. The company first launched the parental controls in the U.K.