Ban TikTok From Canada
The Issue
TikTok is just another defective toy from China and it needs to be scrapped. Not even China uses the same version in their own country!
My name is Marie Sauvé and I am an indigenous artist, residing in Alberta. I discovered my talent in January, 2021 and joined TikTok, the following September because I wanted to reach a larger audience. Since joining TikTok, I have had many disputes with TikTok in regard to their community guidelines enforcement on my account, particularly. The repeated problem that TikTok has had on my account are described as, "adult nudity and sexual activity." There is no nudity or sexual activity in my livestreams or profile videos--any of them. I painted an image of a butt. Not a naked butt, a clothed human with 3" of butt cleavage, exposing a tattoo on the top of the left cheek, on a 12"×12" canvas. That's what this whole fiasco began with.
TikTok has become one of my, "bread and butter platforms." Though, my account is small and I am unable to monetize my account, most of my sales since registering my business in December, 2021 would not have been conducted without the use of TikTok. Terminating my account has most definitely had a negative impact on my ability to provide for my children from home. I loose out on $300 worth of potential sales everyday that I am shut down. Is it so fair that others may dress in bikinis and dance suggestively, but I can't display a painting of 3" of butt cleavage? It's okay for me to wear a shirt that shows breast cleavage, but my artwork is unacceptable? The aim for this petition was originally to restore my live hosting @wildandcreeartistry, but what good was that going to be if their policies remained the same? This problem continued resurfacing after TikTok restored my live hosting and so I shifted the direction of the petition for TikTok to change their policies, as I had come to the understanding that the problem wasn't so simple as people would say, "it is just the algorithm," because it is not, it is human activity behind the algorithm that allows this problem to continue. That's why the makers of TikTok make it next to impossible to contact them in this regard. They know the flaws, and whether they are incapable of making the changes required to resolve the issue that so many people are facing, or unwilling to make the necessary changes, either way their business model is immensely lacking ethics and should be discarded of. At one point during this petition I had wished for TikTok to restore my account @wildandcreeartistry but I don't even want it anymore, because restoring my account won't prevent this from happening again. The app is garbage and it needs to go.
TikTok was designed, utilizing mathematics, to be a self-regulating app. Think of it as TikTok being a machine and the community being the lubrication it needs to run smoothly. The enterprise looked great on paper, probably, but the actuality of it is incredibly flawed. To design an app to run itself and depend on the public reporting to keep the community safe and expect humans to be honest about the things that they are reporting is an unrealistic expectation. Humans are not honest and humans treat each other like garbage every day and it may be, that this is one thing that TikTok capitalizes on. Anyone can have multiple accounts and make multiple reports on any creator that they decide, they just don't like. TikTok makes it easy for people in the community to cancel each other and profits from the accumulated account balances from the banned accounts. How many times have I heard people complain about the bullying, the harassment, the trolls, fake accounts, scammers, child groomers, stalkers, censorship, and illegal activities that the app enables to perpetuate? How do we know the fake accounts arent generated by TikTok or by people working for TikTok? Nobody knows because TikTok prevents anyone from contacting them in this regard. I only see and hear the CEO of the app responding to the positive feedback from his followers. We already know that the app is bad for national security, so why continue letting our kids play in a wasteland? We know that Syria banned it for human traffcking into Europe and Turkey. Countries like Indonesia and Bangladesh have banned TikTok for their pornography concerns, so why are we still allowing our children to play on this app? How many parents are successful at preventing their children from using the app? How many parents really understand what it is, or how it works?
As it stands TikToks policies discriminate against women and the freedom of expression. Art is okay--as long as it doesn't depict certain things. Men receive no penalty for producing content without their shirts on, for the purpose of sex appeal, but a woman can be permanently removed from the platform for breastfeeding their infant in view of the camera, violating her Equality Rights outlined in the Charter of Freedoms of Canada. TikTok specifically outlines that the display or depiction of female nipples to be a violation to their community guidelines. My account, @wildandcreeartistry was permanently banned for simply nourishing my infant son in view of the camera on a livestream after repeated false reports on my artwork being adult nudity. My other accounts, @wildandcreeartistry666 and @wildandcreeartistry69 were simultaneously shut down less than one month later for reasons, undisclosed.
Does anyone know what happens to the balance on the accounts, subsequent to their ban? All of my accounts, prior to their bans, had balances accumulated between $5 and $40. I personally, would like to know what happens to those funds. I don't imagine that those funds are returned to the users that had originally sent their coins to me, as gifts, throughout my live streams. I am pretty sure that money is kept by TikTok. Amongst all of the complaints I have heard about the app, never once have I heard someone say that TikTok refunded them money that they had gifted to other creators. I have heard other creators complain about their accounts being banned while having funds accumulated in their account balance. One of these creators believes that this is done on purpose. What if she is right? What if TikTok is committing fraud? How many accounts over 1000 followers get banned per day? How many of those accounts had balances accumulated? $5 here, $34 there; that money adds up pretty quickly. Upon receiving a ban, one can choose to appeal, but how many do? As well, amongst the ones that do appeal, how often does anyone hear back, or reach any resolution to the issue? The funds I had accumulated on my accounts were to be used to help me secure private housing for myself and my children since we've been living in a shelter, having fled domestic violence, last year.
These bans are more than just an annoyance or some inconvenience, but a violation to my rights, as a human. The best analogy that suits my experience is one that I had become homeless, built a small fire to feed myself and my children and TikTok pissed on my fire, leaving me with nothing but damp and smoldering embers, unable to feed myself and my children. Not only were these bans initiated on false premise, but they are resulted from bullying and sexual harassment toward me online and I know that I am one of many to have faced these issues. I have lost out on website clicks, potential sales, accumulated balances on all of my accounts that were banned, and my only mistake was choosing the wrong platform to showcase my talents. My art is a form of expression and the freedom of expression is protected under section 2b of the Canadian Bill of Rights. My ability to paint is a sheer, raw talent. The Creator presented me with this ability so that I may impact the world through the display of expression. Even the funniest, most simplest pieces can truly inspire. I am here to create and what I create is here for others to enjoy-- No ands, ifs', or BUTTs about it.
I am now petitioning to trigger a response from TikTok. I have many questions about their lucrative business, here in my country, as well 149 others, and if you have read this far, hopefully you are asking the same questions. I am also petitioning for a response from my government representatives. Ultimately, I would like to see this app no longer doing business in my country. I sincerely believe that it is quite dangerous, it is unhealthy and addictive, next to impossible to keep kids and teens off of it, and if they really are committing fraud, wouldn't you want to know?
4,106
The Issue
TikTok is just another defective toy from China and it needs to be scrapped. Not even China uses the same version in their own country!
My name is Marie Sauvé and I am an indigenous artist, residing in Alberta. I discovered my talent in January, 2021 and joined TikTok, the following September because I wanted to reach a larger audience. Since joining TikTok, I have had many disputes with TikTok in regard to their community guidelines enforcement on my account, particularly. The repeated problem that TikTok has had on my account are described as, "adult nudity and sexual activity." There is no nudity or sexual activity in my livestreams or profile videos--any of them. I painted an image of a butt. Not a naked butt, a clothed human with 3" of butt cleavage, exposing a tattoo on the top of the left cheek, on a 12"×12" canvas. That's what this whole fiasco began with.
TikTok has become one of my, "bread and butter platforms." Though, my account is small and I am unable to monetize my account, most of my sales since registering my business in December, 2021 would not have been conducted without the use of TikTok. Terminating my account has most definitely had a negative impact on my ability to provide for my children from home. I loose out on $300 worth of potential sales everyday that I am shut down. Is it so fair that others may dress in bikinis and dance suggestively, but I can't display a painting of 3" of butt cleavage? It's okay for me to wear a shirt that shows breast cleavage, but my artwork is unacceptable? The aim for this petition was originally to restore my live hosting @wildandcreeartistry, but what good was that going to be if their policies remained the same? This problem continued resurfacing after TikTok restored my live hosting and so I shifted the direction of the petition for TikTok to change their policies, as I had come to the understanding that the problem wasn't so simple as people would say, "it is just the algorithm," because it is not, it is human activity behind the algorithm that allows this problem to continue. That's why the makers of TikTok make it next to impossible to contact them in this regard. They know the flaws, and whether they are incapable of making the changes required to resolve the issue that so many people are facing, or unwilling to make the necessary changes, either way their business model is immensely lacking ethics and should be discarded of. At one point during this petition I had wished for TikTok to restore my account @wildandcreeartistry but I don't even want it anymore, because restoring my account won't prevent this from happening again. The app is garbage and it needs to go.
TikTok was designed, utilizing mathematics, to be a self-regulating app. Think of it as TikTok being a machine and the community being the lubrication it needs to run smoothly. The enterprise looked great on paper, probably, but the actuality of it is incredibly flawed. To design an app to run itself and depend on the public reporting to keep the community safe and expect humans to be honest about the things that they are reporting is an unrealistic expectation. Humans are not honest and humans treat each other like garbage every day and it may be, that this is one thing that TikTok capitalizes on. Anyone can have multiple accounts and make multiple reports on any creator that they decide, they just don't like. TikTok makes it easy for people in the community to cancel each other and profits from the accumulated account balances from the banned accounts. How many times have I heard people complain about the bullying, the harassment, the trolls, fake accounts, scammers, child groomers, stalkers, censorship, and illegal activities that the app enables to perpetuate? How do we know the fake accounts arent generated by TikTok or by people working for TikTok? Nobody knows because TikTok prevents anyone from contacting them in this regard. I only see and hear the CEO of the app responding to the positive feedback from his followers. We already know that the app is bad for national security, so why continue letting our kids play in a wasteland? We know that Syria banned it for human traffcking into Europe and Turkey. Countries like Indonesia and Bangladesh have banned TikTok for their pornography concerns, so why are we still allowing our children to play on this app? How many parents are successful at preventing their children from using the app? How many parents really understand what it is, or how it works?
As it stands TikToks policies discriminate against women and the freedom of expression. Art is okay--as long as it doesn't depict certain things. Men receive no penalty for producing content without their shirts on, for the purpose of sex appeal, but a woman can be permanently removed from the platform for breastfeeding their infant in view of the camera, violating her Equality Rights outlined in the Charter of Freedoms of Canada. TikTok specifically outlines that the display or depiction of female nipples to be a violation to their community guidelines. My account, @wildandcreeartistry was permanently banned for simply nourishing my infant son in view of the camera on a livestream after repeated false reports on my artwork being adult nudity. My other accounts, @wildandcreeartistry666 and @wildandcreeartistry69 were simultaneously shut down less than one month later for reasons, undisclosed.
Does anyone know what happens to the balance on the accounts, subsequent to their ban? All of my accounts, prior to their bans, had balances accumulated between $5 and $40. I personally, would like to know what happens to those funds. I don't imagine that those funds are returned to the users that had originally sent their coins to me, as gifts, throughout my live streams. I am pretty sure that money is kept by TikTok. Amongst all of the complaints I have heard about the app, never once have I heard someone say that TikTok refunded them money that they had gifted to other creators. I have heard other creators complain about their accounts being banned while having funds accumulated in their account balance. One of these creators believes that this is done on purpose. What if she is right? What if TikTok is committing fraud? How many accounts over 1000 followers get banned per day? How many of those accounts had balances accumulated? $5 here, $34 there; that money adds up pretty quickly. Upon receiving a ban, one can choose to appeal, but how many do? As well, amongst the ones that do appeal, how often does anyone hear back, or reach any resolution to the issue? The funds I had accumulated on my accounts were to be used to help me secure private housing for myself and my children since we've been living in a shelter, having fled domestic violence, last year.
These bans are more than just an annoyance or some inconvenience, but a violation to my rights, as a human. The best analogy that suits my experience is one that I had become homeless, built a small fire to feed myself and my children and TikTok pissed on my fire, leaving me with nothing but damp and smoldering embers, unable to feed myself and my children. Not only were these bans initiated on false premise, but they are resulted from bullying and sexual harassment toward me online and I know that I am one of many to have faced these issues. I have lost out on website clicks, potential sales, accumulated balances on all of my accounts that were banned, and my only mistake was choosing the wrong platform to showcase my talents. My art is a form of expression and the freedom of expression is protected under section 2b of the Canadian Bill of Rights. My ability to paint is a sheer, raw talent. The Creator presented me with this ability so that I may impact the world through the display of expression. Even the funniest, most simplest pieces can truly inspire. I am here to create and what I create is here for others to enjoy-- No ands, ifs', or BUTTs about it.
I am now petitioning to trigger a response from TikTok. I have many questions about their lucrative business, here in my country, as well 149 others, and if you have read this far, hopefully you are asking the same questions. I am also petitioning for a response from my government representatives. Ultimately, I would like to see this app no longer doing business in my country. I sincerely believe that it is quite dangerous, it is unhealthy and addictive, next to impossible to keep kids and teens off of it, and if they really are committing fraud, wouldn't you want to know?
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Petition created on February 26, 2022