The restrictions will not apply to effects that are “obvious and funny,” like animal ear filters, but rather those designed to alter a user’s appearance, the social media site said Tuesday.
These effects are usually harder to detect as they alter existing facial features including like skin, eyelashes or lips.
TikTok said the changes come after the company’s commissioned research study from children’s online safety nonprofit Internet Matters found a “clear distinction” in the impact of these two filter types.
“Teens and parents raised concerns about ‘appearance’ effects, including that those viewing the content might not realize it had been altered,” TikTok wrote Tuesday.
Internet Matters found most of the teens in the study were in favor of the use of labels on filtered and edited images as a way to avoid anxiety and low self-esteem.
“There was a consensus among teens and parents that beautifying filters contributed to a distorted worldview in which perfected images are normalized and authentic visual presentation is rarer,” the report stated.
The announcement was made at TikTok’s European Safety Forum in Dublin, but a spokesperson confirmed the changes will be rolled out globally over the coming weeks and months.
