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As TikTok continues to face increased press in theU.S.and theU.K. , the society is signaling its commitment to further educational content on its app . The company announced on Tuesday that it ’s expand its consecrate STEM feed across Europe , set forth in the U.K. and Ireland , after firstlaunching it in the U.S. last twelvemonth .
TikTok says that since found the provender in the U.S. last year , 33 % of users have the STEM feed enable and a third of teens go to the STEM feed every week . The app has pick up a 24 % growth in STEM - touch on content in the U.S. since the feed launch . Over the past three twelvemonth , almost 15 million STEM - relate video have been print on the app globally .
The company is expanding its partnerships withCommon Sense NetworksandPoynterto evaluate all of the capacity appear on the STEM provender . Common Sense Networks will prove the message to control it ’s appropriate for the STEM feed , while Poynter will assess the reliability of the selective information . Content that does n’t return both of these checkpoints will not be eligible for the STEM provender .
The launching of the STEM feed comes asTikTok has been criticizedfor show up harmful content to kid and teen , withrights groups allegingthat the app uses addictive design practices to keep users engaged for as long as possible .
In February , the European Union said it wasinvestigating whether TikTokhas breached the Digital Services Act , which includes rules for keeping users dependable online . The commission is investigating whether the app is doing enough to turn back nestling from find inappropriate content and determine whether its design selection energize habit-forming behavior .
With today ’s proclamation , TikTok is seeking to further present itself as an educational hub for the millions of young drug user on its app as a way to counter criticisms from lawmaker around the world . The company has already used the STEM feed to counter claims that it ’s harmful for young users , as TikTok chief executive officer Shou Chew tout the provender while prove in two separate U.S. congressional hearings , one in March 2023 and one in January 2024 .
