TikTok Safety Updates Aim to Reduce Harmful and Hateful Content

TikTok is updating its Community Guidelines by expanding the type of content it will remove from its platform and from being recommended to people.

According to TikTok, the update will focus on four major areas with the goal to protect users from potentially harmful content and to ensure a more welcoming environment. The changes will be implemented in the coming weeks with the company stating that it's open to feedback.

The first change will move suicide hoaxes and dangerous challenges into their own section in the Safety Center, plus TikTok is adding new videos to teach users what to do when they encounter this type of content. These videos can be found in the #SaferTogether hub and the Discover page.

There will also be a new approach to eating disorders that focuses on, what TikTok calls, "disordered eating." This refers to unhealthy actions like overexercising and short-term fasting that the company claims is a sign of a potential eating disorder. The platform states it worked closely with experts on this change and will train its teams on what to look for.

The third change expands its hateful content policy to include deadnaming, misgendering, and misogyny, plus ban content that promotes conversion therapy. With the recent feature that allows people to add their pronouns, TikTok hopes to make its platform more inclusive.

And the final area is an all-around boost to its security. TikTok now bans unauthorized access to the platform and content involved in criminal activity, although what this constitutes is rather vague.

Recommendations from For You feeds will change to reflect the updates. In the coming weeks, users will be advised to read the guidelines every time a change is added.