TikTok, one in every of the country’s most used social media platforms, launched an initiative on Thursday involving a partnership with content creators and advocates to advertise youth online safety.
The #ThinkTwice Troop is an advocacy program comprising a network of academe, child safety experts, and child rights organizations that may help TikTok advance its digital safety initiatives, including the continuing #ThinkTwice campaign it preceded.
“So, we would like to have a team that we are able to at all times refer to and depend on to assist us navigate a few of the tricky challenges we face, in addition to recent challenges we won’t even learn about (on teen digital safety),” Yves Gonzalez, head of public policy for the Philippines at TikTok told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of the media launch event.
TikTok said this system represents a holistic approach to teen safety through consultation, educational programs, and partnerships.
Mr. Gonzalez also said that through their partners, they might help educate educators and fogeys concerning the tools available on TikTok for teen digital safety.
Among the many initial partners of #ThinkTwice Troop are organizations including Child Rights Coalition Asia (CRC Asia), Ateneo Human Rights Centre, and content creators Mona “Mighty Magulang” Magno-Veluz, and Riyan Portuguez.
The general public policy head said these partners are only a start, but the last word goal is to expand the initiative throughout the country.
“So, I’m hoping that by the tip of this 12 months, we’ll have partners and troop members from Visayas and Mindanao,” he said.
Hazelyn Joy Bitaña, deputy regional executive director of CRC Asia, said that #ThinkTwice Troop aligns with the work of civil society organizations to guard youth while allowing them to thrive within the digital space.
“We consider that oldsters, educators, and the private and non-private sectors must work together to empower teens as they navigate the net world within the exercise of their rights and responsibilities,” Ms. Bitaña said.
Meanwhile, TikTok highlighted the tools on the platform to make sure the digital safety of the youth, including over 50 Teen Safety features, Family Pairing, For You Feed controls, and a Time and Well-being section.
The platform also noted that it enforces minimum age requirements through a neutral age gate, machine-learning technology, and a trained moderation team that reviews suspected underage accounts, using reports from the community or parents as additional signals.
Accounts flagged as underage are suspended and permanently banned if no successful appeal is submitted.
From July to September 2025, TikTok removed over 22 million accounts globally suspected to belong to users under 13, which it noted makes the corporate the primary major platform to publicly disclose such figures. — Edg Adrian A. Eva