TikTok Launches Strike System For Rule-Breaking Creators

TikTok is rolling out a new strike system for creators who break the social media platform’s content guidelines. 

The company announced(Opens in a new window) the strike system alongside a whole batch of new features that it says will make it easier for the platform’s creators and users to understand if their content has been blocked from the app’s recommendations.

The popular video app is also testing a feature that would allow users to reset what is being recommended to them on their For You page, which shows users content that is created to their interests via algorithms based on likes, and content they’ve interacted with.

In a blog post, TikTok said the strike system, which YouTube and Meta already use, will target “repeat offenders” of content guidelines. The company said that users who post content “that violates one of our community guidelines will accrue a strike as the content is removed.” An account will be permanently banned from the platform if it meets the threshold of strikes.

The social media company stated that there may be a “stricter threshold” for accounts that push more harmful content such as violating its policy against promoting hateful ideologies and that permanent bans will continue to be issued on the first strike for violations including “promoting or threatening violence, showing or facilitating child sexual abuse material, or showing real-world violence or torture.”

Strikes will expire from an account’s record “after 90 days,” TikTok added in the explanatory blog post.

(Credit: TikTok)

TikTok is set to roll out features including a new “Account status” page where creators will be able to view how their account stands in terms of strikes or content violations. Meanwhile, a “Report records” page will allow creators to see the status of reports they’ve filed on other content or accounts.

As part of the rollout of new features, TikTok said it would make it easier for creators to appeal enforcements or have strikes removed if valid, and would begin notifying creators if their account is about to be permanently removed.

The new features come as TikTok tests a new alert that informs creators if one of their videos has been blocked from the app’s For You page. As Engadget notes(Opens in a new window), the notification will be tested in “select markets over the coming weeks” and users will be permitted to appeal any blocks.

Users will also be able to reset the recommendations that appear on their For You page. A TikTok spokesperson who spoke to Engadget users who are involved in a test rollout of the feature will see a “refresh” option which will completely reset their feed. 

The moves come as TikTok has come under fire for its alleged lack of transparency and as local and federal legislatures across the US have sought to ban the platform. Last month, it was revealed that employees of TikTok and its parent company ByteDance manually boost the reach of videos in a bid to make them go viral.