Whether you are a new user or an existing one, you’ll want to follow some basic guidelines for posting on Tiktok. These guidelines are especially important if you’re posting about anything that might be offensive to other people. This includes, but is not limited to, anti-LGBT+ content, misogyny, sexually explicit content, and abuse of children.
Abuse of children
TikTok, the popular social media app for teens, has recently taken punitive measures to ensure that its young user base is protected. As a result, more than eleven million accounts were deleted and 62 million videos were removed from the platform in the first quarter of 2021.
These numbers only represent a fraction of the total number of videos uploaded to the platform, though. One hundred and ninety million children under the age of 15 use the app at least once a day, according to a report by the U.K.’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
The most recent update to the platform’s safety measures includes a real-time system to remove videos, a new safety feature for minors, and a dedicated National Sexual Assault Hotline. In addition, the app has added resources to support sexual assault survivors and has tightened its default settings for users under 18.
In a blog post, US head of safety Erik Han wrote about the most effective way to report content. He cited a video provided by CNN, which details the rape culture on TikTok.
While the TikTok Community Guidelines provide standards for adult nudity, there is also a section devoted to grooming. This includes the standard prohibitions against non-consensual sex, sexual dance, and attempts to redirect users to sexual content.
The TikTok community has also endorsed a set of guidelines to protect children from harmful behavior. The best way to do this is to make sure that all staff members are appropriately trained.
A tip of the hat to Catie Reay, known as the TikTok Advocate, who has been working to combat the problem. She has been instrumental in helping to remove more than 100 videos from the platform over the past two and a half years.
Sexually explicit content
TikTok is one of the largest social networking platforms in the world. As a result, it is no surprise that it has been the subject of controversy. A Forbes investigation revealed that many TikTok users have found a way to bypass the website’s strict privacy settings and share illegally-sourced images. This included a handful of videos featuring a young girl who appeared to be a minor. The account had more than a dozen hidden videos.
TikTok’s community guidelines state that it does not tolerate pornography or any form of sexually explicit content. However, it’s not uncommon for accounts to feature graphic and offensive material. TikTok uses human-based moderation techniques to prevent this from happening. In fact, TikTok has a robust safety team that alerts law enforcement officials to suspected violations of its policies.
TikTok’s community guide also includes a list of what it calls “best practices.” These include not using a TikTok account to promote violent organizations or illegal trade, or to encourage smuggling. Furthermore, TikTok prohibits promoting sexual exploitation or self-harm in any form. Additionally, it requires all users to install two-step verification, a technology which allows users to log in to their accounts only after verifying their identity.
TikTok’s community guides also point out that there’s a plethora of other social media platforms available to users. It’s not uncommon for people to post provocative content on Facebook and other sites. Despite the fact that TikTok’s community guidelines may seem limiting, it has found a way to accommodate its diverse user base.
The best way to ensure your own safety is to heed TikTok’s community guide and follow its recommended best practices. If you need further assistance, the website provides a number of tips and tricks, from the safest way to hide your private messages to the secret code that lets you block other TikTok users.
Misgendering
Among the biggest changes in TikTok’s Community Guidelines is the prohibition of deadnaming, a practice used by some to call transgender individuals by their birth name. The process can be harmful and lead to feelings of anxiety and gender dysphoria.
Deadnaming is also prohibited in Twitter. As of October 2018, it was added to Twitter’s hateful conduct policy. However, it remains unclear how exactly the company will enforce this change.
While Twitter and Instagram both ban deadnaming, neither of them explicitly state that they will remove content that promotes conversion therapy. In addition, Facebook has been accused of ostensibly banning conversion therapy, but has not followed through on its own ban.
TikTok, which has over 1 billion monthly users, has updated its community guidelines to address misgendering and transgender creations. The update included a list of banned content, challenges, and hoaxes. This is an attempt to make the social media platform safer for LGBTQ+ users.
TikTok is using a mix of human review and machine learning algorithms to monitor content. As a result, the platform has removed more than 91.4 million videos in the past year, due to violations. It has also shadow banned many LGBTQ+ hashtags, a practice which has been criticized by activists.
GLAAD, a leading LGBTQ advocacy organization, is calling for an explicit policy to ban deadnaming. A study involving trans people between the ages of 15 and 21 found a significantly lower risk of suicide.
According to the Equality Act 2010, which protects human rights, discrimination against individuals who do not share a similar gender identity to the one assigned at birth is illegal. Despite these laws, a study involving trans youth has found that these children are four times more likely to be the victims of violence.
Misogyny
It’s time to start calling out TikTok’s toxic misogyny. The app claims to be a safe space for users, but it’s actually allowed extreme, highly publicized sexist content to stay on the site. And it’s not the only social media platform that pushes sexist content to its users.
For instance, the Observer found that TikTok had a fake 18-year-old account set up to spread hateful videos. Similarly, YouTube has been under fire for hosting incel content.
But the TikTok Community Guidelines aren’t doing much to curb this. Although they’ve banned all hate speech and sexually explicit content, they’ve also let some sexist and homophobic content slip through the cracks.
Earlier this year, the Chinese tech firm ByteDance (which owns TikTok) took steps to make the app safer for LGBQ people. They updated the community guidelines, including a list of potentially harmful content. In addition, they clarified that hateful ideologies wouldn’t be promoted on its “for you” page.
One of the most popular TikTok users is a British-American man who has uploaded videos with more than 11 billion views. These include baffling videos that insult men’s hair and genitalia. He also hosts a mock-podcast titled “Fresh New Tits”, which asks whether men are too emotional.
Andrew Tate has sparked a debate about free speech on the internet. His rise to popularity sparked a global outcry. As a result, he’s been banned from Instagram and YouTube. However, he still maintains his presence on TikTok.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate has identified over 100 accounts that regularly promote content involving Andrew Tate. They also analyzed 250m views of his content.
Several groups working to support domestic violence survivors claim that Tate’s comments normalized misogyny. Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women wrote a letter to TikTok’s grievance officer in India.
Anti-LGBT+ content
Tiktok, a popular video-sharing social networking platform, has been under fire recently for its guidelines for posting anti-LGBT+ content. In October, the company updated its community guidelines to explicitly ban content that “dehumanizes” or “attacks” people based on protected classes, including sexual orientation and gender identity. The new guidelines also ban content that incites violence or promotes a violent extremist agenda.
GLAAD, a nonprofit dedicated to making the world a safer place for LGBT+ people, is stepping up its efforts to alert platforms to hate speech. As part of its work, the organization analyzed the algorithm behind TikTok’s recommendation engine and found that it was promoting violent, homophobic content.
The TikTok recommendations algorithm was criticized by media and human rights groups for recommending violent and anti-LGBTQ+ videos to users. These recommendations are based on a combination of the users’ preferences, comments made in their videos, and content they’ve shown interest in.
A recent Media Matters study found that when a user liked an anti-LGBT+ video, they were likely to be exposed to a barrage of similar content. This included videos celebrating the destruction of the Pride flag and encouraging violence against LGBTQ+ people.
TikTok has expanded its policy on hate speech to include more localized content bans. It has prohibited references to China, Tibet, and the Falun Gong. While the new policies were supposed to keep the service from facing regulators, they are no less censorious.
Libs of TikTok has been one of the primary forces driving the right-wing narrative online. They have influenced millions through their viral videos. Using high-profile media figures, politicians, and right-wing influencers, they have amplified their messages.
Several TikTok employees have expressed their frustration about the company’s lack of action in responding to hate speech. Some have posted to the company’s Slack channel.