TikTok has unveiled new parental control features just days after a damning BBC investigation accused the platform of profiting from sexually suggestive livestreams featuring teenagers in Kenya.
The social media giant claims these updates are part of its broader effort to enhance child safety and promote healthier digital habits among young users.
According to TikTok’s Kenya team, the new tools will provide parents with greater oversight while encouraging teens to manage their screen time responsibly.
New Parental Control Features
Among the latest safety measures introduced are:
- 1. Time Away Scheduling – Parents can now set designated screen-free periods, such as during school hours or bedtime. Teens may request extra time, but the final decision remains with parents.
- 2. Proactive Reporting Alerts – Teens who report inappropriate content can now choose to notify a trusted adult, even if Family Pairing is not enabled.
- 3. Expanded Family Visibility – This feature allows parents to see who their child follows and who follows them, with the ability to block accounts and initiate discussions about online interactions.
These updates follow intense scrutiny of TikTok after a BBC expose on March 3, 2025, revealed that the platform was allegedly earning revenue from livestreams featuring Kenyan teenagers as young as 15 engaging in sexually suggestive behavior.
Regulatory Backlash in Kenya
The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) swiftly responded to the allegations, launching an investigation into TikTok’s content moderation practices.
The regulator also ordered the Chinese-owned platform to remove all explicit content involving minors and explain how such material continues to evade its monitoring systems.
According to the BBC’s report, several Kenyan women admitted to starting explicit online activities as teenagers, using TikTok to promote their content and negotiate payments through external messaging platforms.
Some livestreams reportedly relied on coded sexual language, with viewers sending emoji gifts as payment.
Although TikTok officially prohibits solicitation and takes a 70% cut from all livestream earnings, the investigation raised concerns over its ability to enforce its policies.
Kenyan livestreams are particularly popular on the platform, with up to a dozen suggestive performances recorded each night for global audiences.
TikTok’s Moderation Gaps Exposed
TikTok claims it employs a combination of AI and human moderators to detect and remove exploitative content, but experts argue that its systems have significant blind spots.
AI struggles to recognize local slang and coded language, while human moderators have flagged an unusually high number of sexualized livestreams originating from Kenya.
The CA has thus demanded a comprehensive plan from TikTok on how it intends to improve child protection measures and prevent further exploitation.
