COLUMBUS, Ohio — TikTok is making changes to promote safety, security, and well-being on the platform.
In an announcement on Feb. 8, the company noted that it prioritizes safety, diversity, inclusion and authenticity and will remove any content that violates its new community guidelines.
The main updates to be implemented over the next few weeks include:
- Enacting a stricter approach to help prevent such content - including suicide hoaxes - from spreading on our platform.
Broadening its approach to eating disorders. While we already remove content that promotes eating disorders, we'll start to also remove the promotion of disordered eating.
Adding clarity on the types of hateful ideologies prohibited including deadnaming, misgendering, or misogyny as well as content that supports or promotes conversion therapy programs.
Parents in Columbus say social media has a lot of influence on younger users and can create negative outcomes from self-comparison.
"It should be more of an uplifting platform. You know? It should make people want to feel like it's a happy place to come in and say 'I did this or I created this,'" said Nichosia Harris.
Some said this change is a step in the right direction, while others argued it limits free speech. But Derrick Green, a communication professor at Cedarville University, said that's not the case, since all TikTok users must agree to the new rules.
"If the platform has established through its terms and conditions that this kind of content will not be permitted, we have entered into an agreement by having an account and saying okay that we will not do that. We will abide by these terms and conditions," he said.