Tiktok is an app that rose to success and profitability after users and creators alike turned to it as a second home or second community after the worldwide devastation that occurred during the Covid 19 pandemic.

It became a space where connection, community, validation, support, education, and miracles could occur for anyone. 

Millions of people around the globe were united on an equal plain, able to reach and connect with others like them… until Tiktok realized how profitable it would be to divide us all again.

The Problem
We created this petition to recruit Tiktok creators and users alike who have spent their time, energy, and even money building digital communities on Tiktok just to have their content unjustly limited, shadow banned, banned, or removed.

Tiktok’s entire business plan hinges on millions of active users logging in every day so that their data and attention can be sold to advertisers.

Tiktok is selling your attention to the highest bidder and reducing your ability to see and engage with the content and creators that you log in to the app to see. 

For creators, the app sells their content to advertisers for billions of dollars while only compensating them with Pennies - if anything at all and to add insult to injury creators can no longer expect to reach audience members who have opted in (followed) their accounts.

There’s no reason that a creator with 5,000+ followers should be receiving 100 views or less when they post. And there’s no reason that creators should have their content limited when they promote their own websites through “link in bio” call to actions.

We want to change the abusive and exploitative nature of this app, but we need your help!

The Plan

Tiktok cannot sell your attention if they don’t have it. We are asking that users and creators alike plan to log out of Tiktok indefinitely starting on January 15th.

We will plummet their daily active user numbers worldwide until they agree to meet the following demands:

• Videos posted by Active Content Accounts MUST be shown to no less than 15% of all the accounts followers. Ex. If an account has 100,000 followers, each video it posts must reach a minimum of 15,000 unique followers within 24 hours of being post.
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• Users FYP must feature 50% of all videos posted by their followed accounts  that have been posted within 48 hours of log in. As opposed to experiencing predominantly videos by none followed accounts and ads that have been algorithmically pushed. 
  
  
• Restrictions for website and off app promotion, verbal, written, and other must be removed from content moderation. Creators will be allowed to self promote outside products, links, and more on their TikToks. The minimum Tiktok can do if they do not want to share ad revenue with all creators. 
  
  
• shared ad revenue for all creators. Not just the creators ranking in the top 5% of content for the day, as the current program requires. Any creator that creates… is able to monetize their views and be compensating for contributing to the market value of the app.
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• User and creator protection. The app must respond to reports of mass bullying or hate comments as well as reports of false mass reporting of content from users. Users who mass report an account as a form of silencing creators on important topics or to create general harm will face a strike system that will lead to their eventual removal from the platform

 

These were the five greatest concerns amongst the creators and users that were surveyed upon the creation of this boycott. Please feel free to comment the actionables that you would like to see added to this list when you sign.

Due to the indefinite length of this boycott you will be able to receive updates on the status for the protest via this page. When we reach 1,000 signatures we will create an official update Twitter as well.

We would advise that you use the first 14 days of January to:

1) execute any outstanding content commitments

2) Communicate with your Tiktok community about what platforms or mediums they can expect to communicate with you through while you’re logged out of Tiktok. (We can provide guides for those who’d like support launching discords, email lists, or WhatsApp groups)

3) Encourage others in your community to sign this petition and join this protest.

4) Speak up about why this petition and protest is important to you personally on none Tiktok platforms using the #LightsOutTiktokProtest tag.

5) Create a plan for what you’ll be doing instead of scrolling on Tiktok. Will you be moving to a different short form video entertainment platform? Will you challenge yourself to practice a skill or try completing a book during the time you usually scroll? Having a plan to fill the space will increase your success rate in staying off of the app until the demands are met.

 

Why Jan 15th

The point of the protest is to make the digital space a better experience for creators and users alike. So we want to honor the fact that some creators that would be happy to participate may have immediate commitments to fulfill that are important to their brand, business, and livelihood.

But at the same time we want to push Tiktok to make these changes as swiftly as possible so that those who rely on the app for income & promotion can experience a more user and creator friendly Tiktok experience by the second financial quarter of the year.

remember we’re in this together. The more this petition grows the more resources we will make available to those who would like support in their commitment to keep the lights out at Tiktok. Habits are hard to shake. We’re all here because Tiktok has become a significant part of our digital lives, so it’s understandable if you accidentally log in once or twice during the protest just don’t give up or stay active! Log out again as soon as possible!

this only works if they fear that they’ve lost your attention (and content) forever.

no one and no company ever changes without a sense of loss. 

We the users and creators built the success of this app and we will not allow it to control and exploit us now that it’s profitable.

About the Organizers

R Media is a media & entertainment group that was created by grad students that believe in the power of the digitalization of art and protecting artist autonomy.