TikTok Has a New Plan to Swiftly Remove Repeat Offenders

Social media giant TikTok just revealed a new content moderation plan to reduce the number of harmful accounts on the platform. 

These tools are aimed squarely at “repeat offenders,” meaning users who consistently violate the app’s terms of service. To that end, TikTok has significantly beefed up the account enforcement system.

Here’s how it works. If you post content that violates guidelines, the content is removed and your account receives a strike. Once you have accumulated enough strikes, you get permanently banned. TikTok has not said how many strikes force a ban, but they did suggest that some strikes are weighted higher than others, especially in the cases of bullying and harassment. 

For instance, you could likely share spam several times before getting that permaban, but promoting hateful ideologies will quickly shut down your account. Some behaviors institute a permanent ban even with a first strike, such as threatening violence, showing violence in a clip, or facilitating child sexual abuse material. 

TikTok is also giving users a chance to straighten up their acts. If you accrue some strikes but avoid a ban, those strikes disappear after 90 days of good behavior. 

It can be challenging to know where you stand on a social media site with regard to account health, so this new plan is accompanied by an easily accessible status page where users can view pertinent information and start any appeal process. The Account status page also informs creators if they are in danger of a permanent ban. 

The new system is currently rolling out globally and users will receive a notification when it is available to them.