Protecting Children of the TikTok Era: A Discourse Analysis in the Absence of Law

ABSTRACT Insufficient protections from platforms and policymakers have left children vulnerable to the harms of social media, engendering years of lively discussion around who should be held responsible for their continued engagement. Particular concerns have arisen around TikTok, a Chinese owned social media company with a distinct format and appeal toward children. In the absence of overarching governance, the public discourse fueled an understanding of how this platform may be misused. This paper analyzes the public discourse surrounding children's usage of TikTok in the United States between August 2018 and March 2021 ( n = 41,731) identifying communicated harms, responsibility attribution, and public attention metrics. Additionally, a qualitative analysis of changes to TikTok's privacy policy ( n = 6) revealed parallels between the discourse and actual policy changes. Results underscore that the time during which the digital discourse received (1) high public attention and (2) attributed responsibility to TikTok coincided with significant alterations to TikTok's privacy policy. Implications for platform governance and digital civic engagement research is discussed in light of rapidly changing child privacy law.