Ms Chloe Setter:

I accept the Senator's concerns. We really do hear them. I am deeply motivated by those concerns too. In my role as child safety lead, I am often asked whether I would allow my child on TikTok if they were 13. My child is seven months old so I have a while to go yet. We have designed the app using the concept of safety by design. Alongside that, we use technology and human moderation to enforce a safety approach. Teen safety is a very complex space. Our understanding of it is evolving and the research is continuous.

I joined TikTok a year ago. I worked in tackling child exploitation for various charities for more than 15 years. I have also worked directly with victims of sexual abuse and other abuses, so I am deeply motivated to tackle these problems. I joined TikTok because I want to make the digital world safer and I want the platform to be a place where my 13-year-old or my nieces, who are of a similar age, can enjoy content. I am confident that the resources and the measures we are taking are robust. I cannot say they are perfect. That is why we have a continuous approach to safety. We work with experts and have the youth council to advise us. We are listening directly to young people about the experiences they are having. That is ultimately what we have to keep doing: listening to young people, taking their advice on board, working with experts, taking their views on board and developing resources that help people on the platform who are struggling or having a difficult time. It can be a place where such people actually find help. We have a great responsibility in that sense. We have developed many well-being resources around suicide and self-harm with the Samaritans and other expert organisations in order that the platform can be a place where people find community and safety. We have put a great deal of effort and resources into that. However, I take the Senator's concerns. We do not take this lightly.