#SaferTogether: TikTok updates guidelines to protect LGBTQ users and combat eating disorders
TikTok prioritizes safety, diversity, inclusion, and authenticity. They encourage creators to celebrate what makes them unique and viewers to engage with what inspires them. The company believes that everyone can do that in a safer online environment.
Building a safe and secure entertainment platform
In order to achieve that, the widely popular platform came up with community guidelines. TikTok will remove any content – including video, audio, live stream, images, comments, links, or other text – that violates these guidelines.
The company is now strengthening its policies to promote the safety, security, and well-being of users. Since yesterday, it is banning misgendering, deadnaming, and content promoting eating disorders. There’s a statement on its website explaining,
We’re making this change, in consultation with eating disorders experts, researchers, and physicians, as we understand that people can struggle with unhealthy eating patterns and behavior without having an eating disorder diagnosis.
The policy changes also add to a ban on hateful ideologies, explicitly banning deadnaming, misgendering, and misogyny, as well as content promoting conversion therapy. In case you are not familiar, deadnaming refers to the act of calling someone by their birth name after they have changed their name upon transitioning.
TikTok is also saying NO to deadly challenge videos
As part of updates, TikTok announced a new “dangerous acts and challenges” policy category. Previously, the company lumped this together with suicide and self-harm. It will ask creators to create videos asking their followers to follow specific steps when viewing content: stop, think, decide and act.
TikTok wants to inspire young users to pause on challenge videos with this campaign. It urges young users to consider if the content is harmful, make a decision and then report any deemed dangerous. The platform is also asking creators to spread the #SaferTogether hashtag to promote awareness of risky content.
We are commending TikTok on having social responsibility towards the young generation. After all, there are many ways of expressing oneself online. However, we must make sure that it won’t promote harm to others.
Any thoughts on this issue?
