New push to block TikTok as Australian students film and upload videos at school
School students are recording and uploading controversial TikTok videos during school hours, as cyber safety experts are telling parents to get their kids off the app.
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School students are recording and uploading controversial TikTok videos wearing school uniform and in school hours at the same time as cyber safety experts are touring schools nationally warning parents to delete the hugely popular video-sharing app.
TikTok won’t disclose figures but it has rapidly grown it popularity and has quickly become the number one platform Cyber Safety experts are concerned about in terms of predatory behaviour and cyber bullying.
Experts say the school videos – which are trending under hashtags ‘australianschools” – are extremely dangerous and cyber safety expert Susan McLean said the school based trend is another reason mobile phones should be banned in schools nationwide.
“TikTok is the main issue at the moment, the schools’ lack of ability to manage it because parents are oblivious to the dangers and they let their kids do it,” she said.
“Personal use of phones in schools should not be allowed – this is what happens when you allow it.”
In Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania mobile phones are banned in all Government primary and secondary schools, in NSW they are only banned in Government primary schools and in Queensland and South Australia each school sets their own mobile phone policy.
Ms McLean says she advises all parents of primary school students to delete TikTok and News Corp Australia is aware of a primary school in Melbourne where four female students were caught filming TikTok videos in the toilets.
“It is a duty of care issue, how on earth does any kid have a phone in the toilet in the first place? It is dangerous as it identifies the students, the school and puts all students in the school at risk.”
Statistics from the eSafety watchdog show children as young as nine are being bullied and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said TikTok “has replaced the shopping mall as the new congregation place for teens.”
“Apps such as TikTok can be great fun, but, as with any online outlet, it also can become a platform for unsavoury behaviours like cyber-bullying, image-based abuse and grooming by paedophiles.”
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The alarming posts routinely show school students dancing seductively in class or on school grounds in short videos that often reveal names, school logos and locations.
“They need to understand the amount of personal information that a video can give away in a split second – their location is given away, their name, their friends, their school the time comes up,” cyber safety expert ySafe’s Yasmin London said.
The Chinese-owned platform has come under fire for its collection of data of under-age users and Ms London said she has a conversation at least once a month with a parent who has discovered their child has sent an online stranger a photo or personal details.
“And that has really rocked that parent. I have spoken to kindergarten kids using TikTok.”
Ms McLean said predators were known to frequent TikTok looking for potential victims and warned parents that what might seem “cute” to them was “very attractive to a paedophile.
“It is as simple as watching those videos and getting sexually aroused by watching.”
Graham Leddie, Principal of Waverley College in Sydney, said they have had cyber safety experts into the school to discuss TikTok and have raised it at assembly.
“When it comes to the TikTok app, while it seems lighthearted and fun on the surface, the boys need to be aware of the many issues that can result. For example, they need to consider that this platform allows people to download their videos and share them with anyone regardless of whether they follow them on TikTok or not,” he said.
Vice-captain Will Baker, 17, said he uses TikTok but doesn’t upload videos himself. He said the school has put on a number of cyber safety sessions which “really open your eyes to what can go wrong”.
A TikTok spokesperson said: “We’re delighted by the positive response to TikTok in Australia. As our user community continues to surge, we are excited to build our local presence to support our growth, foster a safe and positive environment, and further the incredible creativity of the Australian TikTok community.”
Originally published as New push to block TikTok as Australian students film and upload videos at school