TikTok promotes online safety partners with DSN (Data Science Nigeria)
Boasting over 1 billion active users monthly, TikTok remains an entertainment platform dedicated to empowering creatives. Lauded for its innovative, diverse community and the family-friendly culture it has espoused, another factor that has led to TikTok’s popularity has been its emphatic focus on user protection and safety.
TikTok’s tireless efforts to continuously build a safe environment for its community is a commitment taken very pensively and has resulted in the launch of #SaferTogether campaign, announced at a media event hosted in Lagos on Thursday evening. This initiative is a first-ever safety campaign for TikTok in Sub-Saharan Africa and aims to empower creators, parents, teachers, and guardians with the knowledge about TikTok’s safety features to ensure a positive in-app experience for everyone.
Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, Public Policy Director at TikTok in Africa, reaffirms that user safety is TikTok’s top priority as the platform is committed to promoting a safe and welcoming app environment for its community.
With TikTok's increased popularity in Nigeria and the upcoming government elections, which typically have a huge online presence, this is a good time to emphasize the importance of online safety. TikTok remains dedicated to creating a safe space for creators in Nigeria, helping them thrive by offering a number of tools and controls to help manage their experience on the platform. This is a promise we made and fulfilled throughout the year, as we regularly engaged various stakeholders with the goal of educating the community on safety. #SaferTogether is the first-ever official safety campaign in the region (SSA). This is our way of saying to creators, parents, and guardians that we are purposefully working with the TikTok community to establish a safe space because we are committed to making it better
..Our in-app safety features help users manage their account, content and privacy settings including who can see, like, or comment on their videos. We regularly work with experts in online security, wellness, digital literacy, and family safety experts to help provide advice and resources for our community.
Furthermore, as part of TikTok’s commitment to ensuring safety on its platform remains a priority, TikTok is delighted to announce its partnership with the Data Scientists Network (DSN), which was established to support and encourage an increase in safety awareness. Through this partnership, DSN will conduct three months of in-community workshops with parents, teachers, and guardians in schools in Abuja & Lagos with the goal of educating and empowering them to understand the digital world and how they can help young people stay safe on TikTok. Speaking on the partnership, Dr Olubayo Adekanmbi, founder and CEO of DSN said,
The digital world is our new normal for learning, engagement and socialization; hence the need to make it safer has become our shared responsibility. As practitioners in digital education, we are very excited to promote the new safety features from TikTok and how they guarantee the digital wellness and safety of every child online
Seven safety features you MUST know on TikTok
At TikTok, there is a centralized location for safety updates called Safety Centre that provides updated information on all actions that TikTok is implementing to continuously boost safety and security on the platform. TikTok creators and users are encouraged to visit the Safety Centre to stay up to date on the latest TikTok safety initiatives. Below we highlight some of the key features available.
- TikTok is an app for users aged 13 and older.
- The age-gate measure is available at the sign-up stage before accessing the application.
- TikTok also has an app store rating of 12+ which means that parents can simply block it from their teen’s phone by using device-based parental controls if they need to.
- The platform is designed with the safety of minors in mind, some of its features are age restricted.
- Decide how long you or your child spend on TikTok each day by setting the screen time limit.
- Users will need to enter a passcode to continue using TikTok past the time limit they set.
- Choose a password that’s unique to you and difficult for others to guess.
- To make a strong TikTok password:
- Aim for 12 to 15 characters long.
- Use a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
- Change your password often. We suggest updating it every 30 days.
Account and video privacy settings
- On TikTok, you can choose whether to have a private account or a public account.
- Decide whether you want to allow comments on videos from everyone, followers only or restrict them altogether. This can be adjusted for each individual video they create
- Set a custom list of keywords that will be automatically blocked from any comments on their videos.
- Review all comments before they appear on content.
- A central hub for all insights, articles, partnerships, and other information related to safety and transparency at TikTok.
- The center provides links to various resources and reports, including TikTok’s transparency updates, its platform rules, and an overview of its key pillars for brand safety.
About DSN
Formerly known as Data Science Nigeria (DSN), is Sub-Saharan Africa’s leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Education technology enterprise committed to building Africa’s AI talents ecosystem, and developing solutions for governance, education, health, retail, and finance. Together, both parties will continue to promote online safety awareness for the TikTok community. Read more
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