TikTok said on Wednesday that starting in the next few weeks, the accounts of users under age 18 will automatically be limited to one hour of screen time per day, according to CNN.
After one hour, users will need to enter a passcode in order to continue using the app.
“While there's no collectively endorsed position on the 'right' amount of screen time, or even the impact of screen time more broadly, we consulted the current academic research and experts from the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children's Hospital in choosing this limit.”
Cormac Keenan, TikTok head of trust and safety
"While there's no collectively endorsed position on the 'right' amount of screen time, or even the impact of screen time more broadly, we consulted the current academic research and experts from the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children's Hospital in choosing this limit," said TikTok head of trust and safety Cormac Keenan.
The CNN report said that teenage users will have the option of turning off the setting, but the new feature could be beneficial to the well-being of younger users by requiring them to opt out of screen time limits instead of giving them the option of opting into them.
TikTik said that it is introducing the feature in order to help users "stay in control" of their screen time, according to the BBC. It added that the move comes after it introduced a prompt last year to encourage teenagers to manage their screen time, saying the prompt helped "increase the use of our screen time tools by 234%."
TikTok faces increasing scrutiny from US, allies over security concerns
The company's announcement comes the same day the US House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to give President Joe Biden the power to ban TikTok, which could prevent anyone in the country from accessing or downloading the app on their phones, according to Reuters.
The US and some allies have instructed government institutions to ban TikTok on their devices amid concerns that the app could be used as a backdoor for the Chinese government to access private user data.
Reuters contributed to this report.