South Korea's Media Watchdog to Inspect TikTok's Cash Reward Program Amid Underage Addiction Concerns

SEOUL, Aug. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's media watchdog said Tuesday it will visit the local office of TikTok later this month to inspect the platform's cash reward program. The inspection comes amid concerns that cash incentives for content creators could encourage underage users to become addicted to videos on the platform. Earlier in April, the social media platform owned by China's ByteDance said it will raise cash incentives for local creators over the age of 19 to encourage production of high-quality content in the Korean language. The Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) plans to check whether the company is properly carrying out measures to protect minors from accessing the program, including its age verification system and management of individual accounts. "We plan to verify the facts regarding minors' use of the cash reward program and examine whether youth protection measures are being implemented appropriately," the regulatory body said.