TikTok brings dedicated STEM feed to Europe

Image credits: Yui Mok/PA Images/Getty Images

TikTok continues to face increasing pressure in the US and UK, where the company has announced efforts to foster educational content on its app. The company announced Tuesday that it will expand its dedicated His STEM feed across Europe, starting with the UK and Ireland, after first launching in the US last year.

The STEM feed will automatically start appearing alongside the “For You” and “Following” feeds for users under 18. Users over the age of 18 can enable her STEM feed through the app’s “Content Settings” settings. The feed contains English content with automatically translated subtitles.

TikTok says 33% of its users have turned on the STEM feed since it launched in the U.S. last year, and one-third of teens engage with the STEM feed on a weekly basis. The app has seen a 24% increase in his STEM-related content in the US since the feed’s inception. Over the past three years, around 15 million of his STEM-related videos have been published on the app around the world.

The company is expanding its partnership with Common Sense Networks and Pointer to evaluate all content that appears in STEM feeds. Common Sense Networks inspects the content to ensure it’s appropriate for STEM feeds, and Poynter evaluates the trustworthiness of the information. Content that does not pass both of these checkpoints will not be eligible for STEM feeds.

The launch of the STEM feed comes as TikTok has been criticized for showing content that is harmful to children and teenagers, and rights groups say the app is designed to keep users engaged for as long as possible. claims to use certain design practices.

The European Union announced in February that it was investigating whether TikTok had breached digital services laws, including rules meant to keep users safe online. The commission will investigate whether the app does a sufficient job of preventing minors from discovering inappropriate content, and whether the app’s design choices encourage addictive behavior. There is.

With today’s announcement, TikTok seeks to further position itself as an educational hub for millions of young people on the app as a way to counter criticism from lawmakers around the world. TikTok CEO Hsu Chiu promoted the feed during testimony in two separate US Congressional hearings in March 2023 and January 2024, and the company has already launched a STEM feed. is being used to counter claims that it is harmful to young users.