Today we’re announcing the launch of TikTok’s global Youth Council, a new initiative that further strengthens how we build our app to be safe for teens by design. The launch comes as new global research with over 12,000 teens and parents of teens aged 13-17 reveals a desire for more opportunities to work alongside platforms.

The Youth Council was created in partnership with Praesidio Safeguarding, a specialist online safety agency, and is comprised of 15 teens aged between 15 and 18 representing a range of communities and countries including the US, UK, Brazil, Indonesia, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, and Morocco. The group first met in December 2023 and recently completed their second meeting, which was attended by TikTok CEO, Shou Chew.

The Youth Council has set out its priorities for 2024, which include a focus on teen well-being and inclusion to help ensure TikTok continues to be a safe and accessible space for young people to show up as who they are. In February’s meeting, the teens also:

  • Provided input into TikTok’s Youth Portal, which is currently being redesigned.
  • Requested information about reporting and blocking to better understand what happens after a report is made.

The research, conducted by YouGov in partnership with ConnectSafely, looked to better understand how families have conversations about online safety. It found that the majority talk at least weekly about teens’ use of online services. However, the survey uncovered that just over two fifths (43%) of US teens acknowledge that they avoid certain conversations about the online world, and topics such as bullying and body image were some of the most uncomfortable for both teens and their parents.

Further insight from the research:

  • US families are among the most active users of parental tools out of the countries surveyed.
  • Platforms have an opportunity to support the 20% of US parents who say they would like to use the tools available but are either not aware of them (12%) or don’t know how to use them (8%).
  • Families aren’t indicating much of a struggle with the ‘new’, AI-generated or manipulated content space. It was the topic that both teens (82%) and parents (80%) agreed they felt most comfortable discussing together.

Responding to what we’ve found

Whether it’s the formation of our first Advisory Council in 2020 or creating in-app tips based on the support teens told us they value, we have long sought external perspective so that we can do more as we learn more.

Understanding that it can be daunting to navigate the online world, TikTok works alongside leading industry experts to help families get accessible information. By visiting TikTok’s Safety Center online or in-app, people can find a range of guides, including those covering bullying prevention and body image. In the last six months, these have been viewed by more than one million people every month.

To encourage more people to check out our parenting tools, we’ve prompted hundreds of millions of people in our app about Family Pairing. We now show this to every new community member aged 35 or older when they join our app.

During the first Youth Council meeting, teens talked about the importance of educational campaigns, and in the coming months, we’ll launch new media literacy efforts in the US that focus on misinformation, AI-generated content, and more.

Suzy Loftus, Head of USDS Trust & Safety said: “TikTok is a platform where families come to create and enjoy memorable moments, and we want to ensure we’re empowering families with the tools to do this. Listening to teens and then making meaningful changes based on what they have to say is one of the most important steps we can take to continue building a safe platform.”

Youth Council teen aged 15, United States of America:“I was thrilled and very grateful to be appointed to TikTok’s global Youth Council. It’s an incredible honor and extremely unique opportunity to contribute to shaping the TikTok community on a global scale. One of my primary goals is to advocate for the interests and concerns of young creators. I hope to actively contribute to discussions to promote inclusivity, creativity, and a positive environment. I found the first meeting to be super exciting and positive. Everyone there was super positive and we already had some creative ideas and opinions expressed. I think this is a great group of youth and I can’t wait to see where this council goes.”

Larry Magid, CEO of ConnectSafely, said: “Although most parents seem to be comfortable discussing issues related to their teens’ online behavior, a significant minority of parents say they are ‘not knowledgeable enough’ to have these discussions, reinforcing the need for further parent education.”

Original: https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/tiktok-youth-council-holds-first-meetings-as-new-research-shows-teens-want-to-work-directly-with-platforms