TikTok has now become the favorite social media platform of over a billion users, drawing it into the crosshairs of 14 U.S. attorneys general who just announced their intention to sue the company for the adverse effects of the app on minors' mental health as well as data harvesting from the young. According to a later report, the company's internal study supports these claims.

And this is why TikTok has now announced plans to block the use of certain effects by users under the age of 18 — specifically "effects designed to alter your appearance." The move seems a response to the criticisms that TikTok has faced about how younger users can be affected by these filters: It is less about cute bunny ears and more about beauty filters that artificially change a person's appearance.

TikTok is owned by the $300 billion tech giant ByteDance. According to its terms of service, it permits users over 13 years of age. The categories which fall within the 13- to 18-year-old category might have their own default and different settings. Although the company seems to apply such age boundaries through all possible means of enforcement, its efficacy has raised questions by the regulators.

TikTok says these changes are coming in "the coming weeks" around the world across its global footprint.