
Live streaming viewing is becoming more and more popular among children, tweens and teens. These platforms can be great for kids to connect and communicate with others that have similar interests. But as with all online platforms there can be great risks that you should be aware of and openly discussing. Here are some news reports that we think bring light to what you need to know about live streaming platforms. We hope these help you on your cyber safety journey.
TikTok Live Streaming Restrictions

TikTok is a popular platform that allows users to share short form videos as well as live stream their daily lives or special events. According to a report from Pocket-Lint the app is now rolling out a setting that allows streamers to set an age limit on their streams. It is inevitable that some users will be sharing content that is inappropriate or upsetting to kids, but now there is an ability for those users to make it so young people don’t see it. This in theory is great, but the user must manually switch their content to 18+ and some may choose not to do so. Although the platform is now going through users and flagging those with content that seems more inappropriate for those under 18. You can read more about this here.
Country Wide Restrictions

According to PCMag the Chinese government has now implemented a law where kids can’t watch live streams after 10pm and need parental consent to tip streamers. All over the world parents have been facing the issue of kids staying up all night. As well as kids using their parents money to buy super live chats in order to get the attention of the streamer. They also imposed a restriction that anyone under the age of 18 must have parental consent in order to live stream themselves. These restrictions were put in place because of the obvious risks involved with live streaming like creeps watching underage kids live stream or kids accidentally spending a lot of their parents' money.
Twitch Risks

There have been reports according to Wired Mag that there has been an increase in predators using twitch, a popular streaming platform, to target children under the age of 13. They did an investigation where a young looking girl started a stream and within minutes there were multiple strangers asking for person information and stuck around even after the streamer said they were 10. This shows that people don’t care about age, and they will dig for more information about the child such as contact information. This is so they can solicit the child for inappropriate conversations. Twitch made a statement saying that anyone under the age of 13 is not able to sign up for an account, but it is easy for someone to change their birth date. You can read more about this here.
These are some important news reports that details different topics around being safe on live streaming platforms. We hope that this helps you feel more secure about using these platforms. You can check out our social media platforms for more content and resources surrounding live streaming safety. Make sure to sign up for our email list to never miss out on a blog! Be educated, be connected and be safe!