Recently, TikTok has release an update to their Community Guidelines that goes into effect on March 7, 2022. Most of the changes are for the betterment of the platform, including cracking down on child grooming and bots which have become regular occurrences on the app. Unfortunately, within these new terms are a lot of room for job discrimination, body shaming and other issues that are listed and explained in the evidence below.

What are we asking TikTok to change?

In the evidence and arguments below,there are many problems with vagueness and wording that allow for discriminatory practices, inconsistencies, and what could only be deemed as wrongfully allocated systems/resources that hurt 18+ content creators and business owners that are the backbone of the TikTok community.

We are specifically asking that:

1. The outlined sections of this petition be reworded in a way to specify exactly what content is being removed, allow the content creators who use and promote this app in correlation with their career be protected in the ways and instances listed below, and to eliminate any inconsistencies between sections.

2. The outlined sections of this petition be reworded in a way as to not discriminate against its creators via “AI or Algorithm” based on race, sex, gender, body type, or job description.

3.TikTok consider implementing a system that not only keeps minors safe, but also ensures the safety, security, interests, cultural diversity, and non-discrimination of its 18+ content creators as listed below.

 

Introduction

“Our Community Guidelines apply to everyone and everything on TikTok.”

“We will temporarily or permanently ban accounts and/or users that are involved in severe or repeated on-platform violations; we may also consider actions on other platforms and offline behavior in these decisions.”

1. While it is generally understood that this is stated with the intent of helping keep people who engage in and illegal activity, discrimination, and other harmful activities; the vagueness of the wording insinuates room for job discrimination, personal non-harmful content, etc. to be use as grounds for temporarily or permanently banning accounts and/or users as a means to force them into compliance in order to keep their accounts/content and possibly a source of income.

“At the same time, we recognize that some content that would normally be removed per our Community Guidelines may be in the public interest. Therefore, we may allow exceptions under certain limited circumstances, such as educational, documentary, scientific, artistic, or satirical content, content in fictional or professional settings, counterspeech, or content that otherwise enables individual expression on topics of social importance. To minimize the potentially negative impact of graphic content, we may first include safety measures such as an “opt-in” screen or warning.”

1. This section, in and of itself, is great. However, as listed in other parts of these new guidelines, the algorithms that are used are not always able to differentiate what could be considered ‘educational, documentary, scientific, artistic, or satirical content, etc’ and will inevitably still remove content that falls under these categories. As also listed in the previous section, repeated on-platform violations can result in permanent bans which could effect accounts that make these types of content since, under the current system, the videos taken down would still count as violations even after an appeal.

 

Minor safety

Grooming behavior

* Content that solicits minors to connect with an adult on another platform, website, or other digital space

1. While we definitely understand what this is trying to say, the problem is how vague the wording is. Many people “solicit” people to buy their products or interact with their content as their career. The people this will effect will range from small businesses owners to YouTube creators and everyone in between and could result in major losses of income or even the banning of their accounts as a whole

 

Adult nudity and sexual activities

Sexual exploitation

* Content that depicts, promotes, or glorifies sexual solicitation, including offering or asking for sexual partners, sexual chats or imagery, sexual services, premium sexual content, or sexcamming

1. As we all know, TikTok has made their prejudices against sex workers and their chosen occupations painfully clear and obvious. People who participate in this line of work are often banned from the app repeatedly for ‘guideline violations’ on content that includes them just discussing their experiences, having links in their bio to certain other social media accounts (some of which aren’t even inherently sex related) and countless other reason that are touched on elsewhere in this petition.

2. Of course, TikTok is not the only social media platform to put their hatred of sex work and it’s workers on full display, but society has progressed and it is time to move towards ending job discrimination. Especially, with legal lines of work. Companies like this seem to often forget that sex workers have lived on the margins of society through most of human history and the reasons people flock to this type of work. Poverty, gender inequality, inadequate education and lack of economically viable job options contribute to the reasons many people enter into sex work, but these conditions are rarely mentioned whenever there are debates or ‘policy changes’ that target this line of work. Instead, arguments that perpetuate harmful myths about the character, motives, needs and morals of sex workers, used under the guise of protecting minors and helping to stop human trafficking, continue to influence policies such as TikTok’s, to the detriment of sex workers and all of society. Similarly, the conflation of sex work (a commercial exchange of sexual services) with human trafficking (coercion into forced labor of all kinds) harms both the sex workers and the fight against trafficking.

 

 

Nudity and sexual activity involving adults

Nudity and sexual activity include content that is overtly revealing of breasts, genitals, anus, or buttocks, or behaviors that mimic, imply, or display sex acts. We do not allow depictions, including digitally created or manipulated content, of nudity or sexual activity. We are mindful that some content may be offensive or culturally inappropriate in certain regions or may not be suitable for users of all ages.

1. Obviously, sexually explicit content should not be in spaces that are not strictly for NSFW content or at minimum, in spaces that do not have age requirements to view and interact with certain content, and spaces that safeguard minors from interacting with certain content.

2. On the other hand, we have already seen this in action on the TikTok platform and how it has been implemented in a way that body shames people based on their size, shape and skin tone/race. It has also show us how people who fall into certain body sizes, shape and other specific categories, can skirt around the rules.

3. Because the first portion is so vague and leaves it up to TikTok’s team and ‘algorithm’ to decide what qualifies as “overtly revealing”. Many adult people (especially women and feminine presenting folx) who have larger proportions and body parts will have their content removed, suppressed or even banned just for wearing clothing that they are comfortable in just because of the way their bodies are shaped.

 

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

* Content that depicts a sexual fetish

1. A lot of fetishes and/or kinks are not inherently sexual in nature. Shibari or Kinbaku, is an ancient Japanese art form and not inherently sexual. There are also many fetishes that include parts of the body that are also not inherently sexual; ie: hands, feet, thighs, etc. Where and with what should we draw the line?

2. There are many pages and profiles on this app that are used for educational purposes. Specifically, within the US, the sexual education system is severely lacking and in most states it is taught on the basis of misinformation and abstinence as the only form of protection which has statistically been proven to have negative effects on protecting and preventing our youth from experiencing life altering and harmful events. Sadly, this misinformation commonly continues into adulthood. More often than not, this knowledge is never corrected unless directly challenged by an outside source, such as the many educational pages that already exist on the TikTok platform.

* Content that depicts genitals, buttocks, the pubic region, or female nipples

1. Again, the vagueness in wording leaves much room for interpretation. With the way this is directed towards women, particularly breastfeeding mothers and educators, I doubt the sexist undertones need mentioned.

 

Ineligible for the For You feed

Minor Safety

“Minors’ sense of judgment and identity mature as they develop. To provide teens with additional room for identity exploration and expression in digital spaces, content uploaded by users under the age of 16 is not eligible for recommendation. We strive to encourage healthy development across all ages. The promotion of cosmetic surgery to minors may lead to higher rates of body dissatisfaction. Accordingly, such content -- including before-and-after videos, videos of surgical procedures, and messages discussing elective cosmetic surgery without warning of risks -- are ineligible for the FYF of all users under the age of 18.”

1. While there is nothing objectively wrong with this section, the emphasized portion at the end brings a few things in question. If the specific content mentioned above can be removed from the FYF of all users under the age of 18, why is it that this system is not being implemented for the aforementioned content listed in this petition as a way to not only keep minors safe but to also allow 18+ creators to make and see the content they want? Could this system not be used to let 18+ creators mark their content and/or accounts in such a way as to prevent minor interaction? Could this system not also be used in a way to keep certain content from being seen by people in certain areas to abide by TikTok’s claim of “removing content in order to be ‘culturally aware’”?

 

In summary, the goal of this petition is to encourage the TikTok platform to uphold their goals of inspiring creativity, building a global community, maintaining a supportive environment, and prioritizing safety, diversity, inclusion, and authenticity.