TikTok has released a new family pairing tool to help parents and kids stay safe. It allows you to customize settings, link accounts through a QR-code and monitor your kids usage. That includes limiting screen time, blocking content, and blocking direct messages for users under the age of 16.

The more they are able to look at it the better they can make a decision for their family household.

Michael Beckerman – Vice President of TikTok

According to a survey of more than 3,000 people by Parents-Together, more than 93% of people surveyed think the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act passed by Congress should be expanded to include kids aged 13 -17. Right now they aren’t protected.

It’s very difficult to legislate the internet. A 10- year-old was lured from TikTok to another chat room where she was asked to make explicit videos.

Rep. Liz Linehan – D-Cheshire

Rep. Linehan chairs the legislature’s Committee on Children. Her kids are on TikTok. The new pairing tool she says allows families some control. Her office put out a warning last year when a local child was threatened.

She says lawmakers want to stop online predators grooming for abuse. The committee is crafting legislation. In the meantime, she says talk to your kids, it’s about trust.

I would tell everyone, if your kids are online you have got to monitor that content and you have to have an open dialogue about the dangers online, Rep. Linehan added.

Source: News8