A video-sharing app has apologised after influencers were accused of exploiting fans by getting them to send money in exchange for their phone numbers.
Social media platform platform TikTok, which is hugely popular among British teenagers, allows users to send their favourite videomakers ‘digital gifts.’
The gifts appear as on screen animations, and can cost anywhere between 5p and £48,99, meaning the app’s biggest stars can earn thousands in just one live stream to their fans.
An investigation found that influencers have been promising online friendship and to share personal details with their fans, like their phone numbers in exchange for the gifts.
One 12-year-old girl told the BBC investigation that she spent nearly £100 on a live stream by TikTok star Sebastian Moy (left). The Neffati brothers (right) have amassed 2.5 million followers in just six months
They also promise to say a users name during a live stream, say they will back fans on social media and offer to make ‘duets’ in split screen video.
The BBC probe found one promised to talk to a fan on Instagram ‘for a week’ and was given three gifts worth a total of £147.
Others offered personal messaging details. Investigators also found a group asking for gifts in exchange for ‘likes’.
One 12-year-old girl told the BBC investigation that she spent nearly £100 on a live stream by TikTok star Sebastian Moy, sending him two ‘drama queen’ gifts at £48.99 each.
Claire, from north west England, said she sent one to show her appreciation for one of his videos, and the other in exchange for his mobile number. She says he has never answered his phone.
The gifts appear as on screen animations, and can cost anywhere between 5p and £48,99. Pictured: The ‘drama queen’ app, which can cost up to £48.99
The US-based video-maker has 3.8 million fans on TikTok and has not broken any of the app’s rules. He has not responded to the BBC’s requests for comment.
Kelly told the BBC she had spent up to £600 of her own money on digital gifts, but says she has stopped sending them because she feels ‘exploited.’
She said: ‘I understand people need to make money these days off social media but I just think it’s force-fed down young people’s throats that they need to pay money to get attention or feel appreciated.’
Rhys, 20, who spent £1,000 said that gifting is ‘a little bit like gambling.’
He said: ‘It gets addictive. I really didn’t see anything wrong with it at the time but now I don’t think it’s worth it.’
Rhia (pictured) from south Wales, has 2.5 million fans. She said her average fan was about 10 to 14 years old
Another TikTok star Nathan Triska, is pictured receiving two drama queen gifts from one user
Stephanie Barbour, from Toronto, found her 11-year-old daughter had run up a bill for £240. She said: ‘I was shocked when I found out what the money was spent on,’ she said.
‘I said to my daughter, ‘So you don’t actually get anything for it?’ and she said, ‘No.’
TikTok has about 500 million regular users. It’s estimated to have been downloaded more than a billion times.
It lets people post 15-second videos. It is most popular with 16- to 24-year-olds but there is evidence that many users are under 13, which is against the app’s rules.
Videomakers with more than 1,000 followers are allowed to broadcast live on TikTok. It is during these live streams that fans can send digital gifts.
TikTok was hit with a £4.3million fine in the US earlier this year for gathering personal information on children aged under 13
It is believed influencers take home up to 50 per cent of all gift revenue earned.
The Neffati brothers have amassed 2.5 million followers in just six months. The 25-year-old Polish twins who live in Blackburn, Lancashire, are famous for their dancing and comedy sketches.
They offer to follow back fans in exchange for a ‘drama queen’ gifts.
They told the BBC that they were following the lead of other creators on the platform and that most of the fans that sent gifts were about 30 years old.
But they said they did feel guilty when they received gifts from young fans.
Rhia, from south Wales, has 2.5 million fans. She said her average fan was about 10 to 14 years old.
She told the BBC that she feels ‘uncomfortable’ when she receives several gifts from very young followers, and called for stricter age limits on gifting.
She said: ‘It would make you feel more ethical because taking money from children is not a good way to earn a living really.’
Bytedance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, told the BBC it was investigating digital gifting.
In a statement, it said: ‘We do not tolerate behaviours that are deceptive in nature and we are sorry to hear some of the users’ experiences.
‘We recognise there is always room for improvements in terms of making guidelines and information more accessible, clear and easy-to-understand for all users.
‘We value your feedback and will further strengthen our policies and product features.’
On Tuesday The Information Commisoner’s Office said it was launching an inquiry into whether the app was doing enough to safeguard its youngest users.
Information commissioner Elizabeth Denham revealed the investigation which began in February during an appearance at a parliamentary committee.
She said: ‘We are looking at the transparency tools for children, at the messaging system, which is completely open, at the kind of videos that are collected and shared by children online.
‘We do have an active investigation into TikTok right now, so watch this space.’
Miss Denham said TikTok was potentially falling foul of data protection implemented last year that ‘requires the company to provide different services and different protections for children’.
The company only allows users over the age of 13 but verification checks are based solely on trust and can be easily circumnavigated by those signing up.
ByteDance was fined a record £4.3m by US authorities earlier this year for collecting data belonging to underage users.
A TikTok spokesman said of the watchdog probe: ‘We cooperate with organizations such as the ICO to provide relevant information about our product to support their work.
‘Ensuring data protection principles are upheld as a top priority for TikTok.’
What is TikTok?
TikTok is known in China as Douyin where it was launched in 2016
Tik Tok is a Chinese social media app where users can live stream, create short videos and music videos and Gifs with a host of functions.
Tik Tok’s tagline is ‘Make every second count’.
It was the most downloaded app in the US in 2018 and the world’s fourth most downloaded app in 2018, ahead of Instagram and Snapchat.
TikTok is known in China as Douyin where it was launched in 2016 and then made more widely available around the world in 2017.
Douyin is still the version of the app used in China, available to download separately to TikTok.
Last year, the app was merged with popular music video lip-syncing app Musical.ly, also with headquarters in China.
Most children use the app to film themselves lip-syncing to chart hits.
It offers users a raft if colourful modification and editing tools including overlaying music, sound, animated stickers, filters and augmented reality (AR) for creating short videos.
The Beijing based social network has more than 500 million active users and the company is now worth more than $75 billion (£58 billion).