Starting on May 17, the popular social media app TikTok will begin censoring users' For You Feed (FYF) to exclude content that is deemed to contain "misinformation" or "harmful speech."
At the behest of the United States Congress, which is eager to ban the app entirely – many of them hold stock in competitor Meta (Facebook), by the way – TikTok is implementing new FYF "Eligibility Standards" to block content specifically related to health.
TikTok users who talk about "unproven treatments," as defined by the government, will no longer be featured, at least not at the same level as other users. The platform will also crack down on content that provides information and advice about:
• Dieting and weight loss
• Plastic surgery (unless associated risks are also mentioned)
• Science in general
Anything in these categories that is deemed by the authorities to be "misleading," or that "could potentially" cause harm to the public, will more than likely not be featured on TikTok's FYF, reports indicate.
(Related: If primarily Republicans get away with banning TikTok, they won't stop there – you can be sure of that.)
No more sharing "sadness" on TikTok, either
The new rules appear intentionally vague, casting a very wide net across a very large swath of TikTok's content, particularly in the area of mental health information.
TikTok wants to stop the "overgeneralization" of mental health information that could lead to younger users, especially, making poor decisions based on claims that may or may not be true.
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Bizarrely, TikTok is also going after content that centers around "sadness." The platform will soon frown upon things like "sharing sad quotes," or otherwise spreading content that might make someone feel unhappy.
Already on TikTok, some videos showing dangerous stunts or other things that could cause a person harm have a disclaimer stating that what is depicted may be unsafe. Now, TikTok wants to add a similar disclaimer to sadness content, warning that it "may be fine if seen occasionally, but problematic if viewed in clusters."
"We will interrupt repetitive content patterns to ensure it is not viewed too often," TikTok said in an announcement.
Satire and intelligent mockery, one of the foundational elements of what makes TikTok such a threat to the establishment, is also on the chopping block. "Some content" that is deemed to be making insinuations or indirect statements about protected groups, or that "may implicitly demean" them, will be discouraged.
As for all the challenges that TikTok users do as a community, these will still be allowed unless they are deemed to potentially cause "moderate physical harm." The platform will also go after semi-nudity a little harder by prohibiting "wearing only nipple covers or underwear that does not cover the majority of the buttocks."
And, since it is once again a presidential election year, TikTok is all of a sudden hyper-focused on "election integrity," which is exactly what Twitter (now X) and Facebook did back in 2016 when they were considered to be the most popular social media apps.
Now that TikTok is social media platform No. 1, the powers that be are doing everything they can to put a lid on unapproved information that might destabilize the status quo. This includes "conspiracy theories that are unfounded and claim that certain events or situations are carried out by covert or powerful groups, such as 'the government' or a 'secret society.'"
Any "unverified claims about an election, such as a premature claim that all ballots have been counted or tallied; statements that significantly misrepresent authoritative civic information, such as a false claim about the text of a parliamentary bill" will also be prohibited.
Thanks to Congress, freedom of speech on TikTok is being eroded. Learn more at Censorship.news.
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