TIKTOK CHANGES COMMUNITY GUIDELINES TO PROTECT YOUNG USERS
Social media site TikTok has announced a raft of updates to its community guidelines in a bid to improve online safety for its younger users.
Content which promotes “disordered eating,” such as videos which promote fasting, will be removed, while any videos which contain adult nudity or show illegal acts will also be taken down from the site. Videos which are perceived to be misogynistic, videos which misgender trans users and content which “promotes conversion therapy” will also be removed.
The announcement comes after a Wall Street Journal investigation found evidence that the platform’s algorithm could push fasting and extreme dieting content at younger users, prompting fears that viewing the content could lead to eating disorders.
TikTok said they removed over 91 million videos in the third quarter of 2021 for violation of their community guidelines.
“The volume of automated removals has increased, which improves the overall safety of our platform and enables our team to focus more time on reviewing contextual or nuanced content,” said Cormac Keenan, Head of Trust and Safety at TikTok.
“We’ve made significant strides to improve our policies and enforcement, including our efficacy, speed, and consistency, though we recognize there’s no finish line when it comes to keeping people safe.”
TikTok was not the only social media platform to announce changes to its rules for users last week. Social media site Twitch updated its username policy in an attempt to improve safety for users.
Under the new rules, any usernames which contain “References to sexual acts, arousal, fluids, or genitalia” will be removed, as well as usernames which contain references to illegal drugs.
The new policy will take effect in March. The company said the changes were necessary “to cultivate a diverse, inclusive global community on Twitch.”
STOP SHARING ADDRESSES, FACEBOOK OVERSIGHT BOARD SAYS
Members of the Facebook Oversight Board have called on Facebook parent company, Meta, to update its policy to prohibit the sharing of private residential information.
In a statement, the Board said that Facebook should remove the exception to its existing policy, which “allows the sharing of private residential information when it is considered publicly available” to better protect people’s personal information.
The announcement comes after a number of Facebook users reported being victims of “doxxing,” in which people share private information about someone online with the intention of causing them harm, for example by facilitating harassment.
“The Board understands that the sharing of private residential addresses and images represents a potentially serious violation of the right to privacy both for people who use Facebook and Instagram, and those who do not,” the Oversight Board said.
“Harms resulting from doxing disproportionately affect groups such as women, children and LGBTQIA+ people, and can include emotional distress, loss of employment and even physical harm or death.”
NEW PROPOSALS TO STOP CHILDREN ACCESSING PORN
Digital Minister, Chris Philp MP, has announced a set of measures aimed at stopping children from being able to access pornography online.
Under the measures, porn sites must use age verification technology to ensure that no one under the age of 18 can access the website, such as by using a third-party service to “confirm their age against government data.”
Companies who “fail to act” will be fined up to 10% of their annual turnover, according to the proposed rules.
Age verification for pornography was first proposed by the government in 2015 – but plans were ultimately dropped in 2019 owing to difficulties in implementing the age verification rules. It is unclear how the government intends to overcome previous implementation hurdles under the new proposals.
7 IN 10 PEOPLE HAVE EXPERIENCED POTENTIAL RIP-OFFS ONLINE: CMA
7 out of 10 Brits have experienced possible online rip-offs, new research commissioned by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) suggests.
85% of respondents to a survey said hidden charges were their biggest concern when shopping online, while 95% worried about subscription traps and 80% about fake reviews.
The research comes as the CMA has launched a new campaign, the “Online Rip-Off Tip-Off,” aimed at educating people on how to avoid being sucked in by “misleading online practices.”
“We continue to crack down on practices that could break the law, such as fake reviews,” said CMA Chief Executive, Andrea Coscelli. “But to tackle this problem from all angles, it’s vital shoppers are armed with the tools they need too.”
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