TikTok is ramping up penalties for creators who post potentially “problematic” content and tightening its rules about what can be recommended on the app. The It comes as TikTok fights for its future in the United States and tries to convince lawmakers and regulators that its app is safe for teens.
Added TikTok under updated community guidelines that will take effect in May content that is not eligible to be recommended in the app’s desired “For You” feed. The list includes some obvious categories, such as sexual or violent content, but it also includes topics that have previously been a source of controversy for the app. For example, the new guidelines feature videos showing “dangerous activities and challenges” as well as many types of weight loss or diet content. It also prohibits any clips of users under the age of 16 from appearing on For You.
There is also a long section devoted to a wide range of disinformation and conspiracy content. From the instructions:
-Conspiracy theories that are baseless and claim that certain events or situations are perpetrated by secret or powerful groups such as the “government” or “secret society”
– Misinformation that is moderately harmful to health, for example, an unproven recommendation for the treatment of a minor disease
– Repurposed media to show a crowd at a music concert and say it’s a political protest
– Misrepresenting authoritative sources, such as selectively citing certain scientific data to support a conclusion that contradicts the research findings
– Unverified claims of emergency or occurrence
-When disinformation that can be highly damaging undergoes fact-checking
In addition to the compliance changes, TikTok says it will begin penalizing creators who repeatedly ignore this guideline, making their entire accounts ineligible for recommendations, not just specific offensive posts. The company will also make its accounts “harder to find” in search.
Additionally, the app is getting a new “account status” feature that will help users track whether they’re not following these rules. It is very similar to the feature of the same name , the status of the TikTok account will alert the creators of their account and posts that violate the rules of the application. And an “account verification” feature will allow users to track whether they’re currently blocked from recommendations or unable to access features like messaging or commenting because of an app violation.
