Social media app TikTok will address hateful speech following the emergence of offensive language and ideologies on the platform.
On Wednesday, TikTok said that hateful speech and behavior will be removed, particularly messages expressing ideologies such as neo-Nazism, white supremacy, White nationalism, and the White genocide theory.
TikTok will target coded language and symbols that some account holders use to spread hateful speech.
Moreover, the company said it will get rid of statements that are rooted in these ideologies, as well as content associated with movements like “Identitarianism” and male supremacy.
Like other social media platforms, TikTok has prohibited content that rejects the Holocaust and other violent tragedies. It will also eliminate misinformation and offensive stereotypes about Muslim, Jewish, and other communities. This covers misinformation about famous Jewish people and families who are used as proxies to broadcast anti-Semitism.
A BBC report in July states that TikTok’s algorithm had spread an anti-Semitic death camp meme. The video-making app erased a collection of videos, which garnered 6.5 million views, with a “sickening” anti-Semitic song.
Content that upholds conversion therapy or the thought that no one is born LGBTQ+ will also be taken out, TikTok said.
Danny Stone, chief executive of the Antisemitism Policy Trust, said in a statement: “TikTok has a large, and growing audience and an equally big responsibility that those using its platform not be served up hate materials.”
“We are therefore pleased that the company is seeking to deepen its understanding and broaden its policies against antisemitism and other forms of racism and welcome the changes being announced today.”
TikTok caters to 10,000 people across the globe evaluating and moderating content uploaded to its platform. It also employs algorithms to flag and remove offending content.
TikTok has addressed many controversies on their platform in the past, such as the skull-breaker challenge.
TikTok warned that the skull-breaker challenge, which involves two people kicking the legs from under a third person, making them fall over, has caused serious injury among teenagers in the UK and the US.
Two teenagers have been charged by US prosecutors with aggravated assault over the prank and officials have warned parents to stop their children from participating in the challenge.
In a statement, TikTok said: “We do not allow content that encourages or replicates dangerous challenges that might lead to injury. In fact, it’s a violation of our community guidelines and we will continue to remove this type of content from our platform.”
“Nobody wants their friends or family to get hurt filming a video or trying a stunt. It’s not funny – and since we remove that sort of content, it certainly won’t make you TikTok famous,” the company added.
Most popular social media app
TikTok is the second most popular social app for American teens, according to Piper Sandler’s report.
Results revealed that 34% of teens identify Snapchat as their favorite social app. Meanwhile, 29% chose TikTok. Behind TikTok and Snapchat was Facebook’s Instagram, with 25% of respondents selecting it as their favorite social app. TikTok ranked third in the spring 2020 version of the Piper Sandler report.
However, in terms of usage, the choices are quite different. Instagram grabbed the top spot with 84% engagement. Next is Snapchat at 80% and TikTok at 69%, up from 62% in the spring. Findings show that TikTok is attracting market share among young American users, which are a key target for social apps.
