Amsterdam municipality launches TikTok channel targeted towards young people

The city of Amsterdam has launched a TikTok account to provide reliable information to young people in the Dutch capital. 

Amsterdam TikTok account provides reliable information to youth

The municipality of Amsterdam has created its own TikTok channel to not only provide youth with reliable information on a variety of important topics, but also to connect with young people and hear about their daily experiences in the Dutch capital. 

“TikTok has become an important news source for many young people. But the government has little presence there, which makes it harder for us to reach young people with reliable information,” said the ICT and digital city alderman Alexander Scholtes in an official announcement. Official Dutch guidelines state that children should be at least 15 before being allowed to use social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.

Targeting young people aged 15 to 18, the official account will provide accurate information on mental health, financial worries, vaccinations, safety, and important arrangements when turning 18. The municipality will also not run advertisements or use TikTok search terms.

Young people use TikTok as main source of news

In a YoungWorks survey commissioned by the municipality of Amsterdam at the beginning of 2025, young people aged 10 to 18 listed TikTok as their main source for news. Similar results were seen by youth panels such as Oost Up and Westconnect, showing that young people usually come across information in videos fed to them by algorithms rather than actively seeking it out.

According to the 2025 Mediahuis Youth Survey, 68 percent of 15 to 21-year-olds use TikTok, 22 percent of whom use the social media platform as their primary news source. “At the same time, we see a lot of nonsense and misinformation circulating on this platform, about topics that directly affect young people: from vaccinations to mental health and nutrition,” said Scholtes. “We need to counter that. That's why we're now choosing to use TikTok carefully. Doing nothing is not an option.”

The municipality is implementing privacy and security measures while using the platform, as recommended by the Amsterdam Data Protection Authority (CPA). Because city employees are not allowed to install TikTok on their work phones, the city will use two mobile phones dedicated to TikTok without any other installed apps, and only a small team will have access to them.

Amsterdam will evaluate the TikTok channel in 18 months to see whether it is effective and determine whether it should continue. The city continues to advocate for stricter social media regulations at the European level, especially for youth. “The municipality is strongly committed  to stricter enforcement of "addictive design" aimed at young people, greater transparency around algorithms, and the development of public, safe alternatives.”