By Alexandra Evans, Head of Child Safety Public Policy, Europe

At TikTok, we're focused on providing our community with a platform that offers a joyful, creative, and above all, safe experience. For us, safety isn't a bolt-on or a nice to have - it's our starting point and we are committed to doing everything we can to make our platform a safe and fun space for everyone.

To do this, our approach to safety needs to be comprehensive and as an organisation we need to take action from a number of different angles. One important step is to implement safety by design principles such as our decision to only allow those over 16 to use Direct Messaging because we understand that despite the potential for good, experts have outlined the clear potential for misuse. 

Another way we keep our TikTok community safe is through our Community Guidelines. These policies reflect the values that we are committed to upholding in our community. Whether someone comes to our platform to #LearnOnTikTok, or to show how they have been keeping up spirits by dancing with their family during lockdown, feeling safe is integral to enabling creative expression. 

That's why we continually review our safety policies to make sure they are fit for purpose and we enforce them by using a combination of technology and thousands of safety experts based around the world. 

A third and essential part of our work to create a safe environment involves industry collaboration. Partnerships allow us to listen to honest feedback, enabling us to improve, share best practices, and monitor emerging developments. Building on our partnerships with Internet Matters and the WePROTECT Global Alliance, TikTok has now joined the European Commission's Alliance to Better Protect Minors Online.

Through the Alliance, we are excited to have an opportunity to collaborate with the European Commission and industry partners to build a safer internet for the youngest members of the TikTok community and to share the work we are doing to ensure that TikTok continues to be a platform full of joy and creativity. 

About the Alliance to Better Protect Minors Online

The Alliance to better protect minors online is a self-regulatory initiative designed to improve the online environment for children and young people. Following the European Commission's invitation to take part in a joint effort, leading ICT and media companies, NGOs and UNICEF officially launched the Alliance on Safer Internet Day 2017.