TikTok Is Finally Cracking Down On Eating Disorder Content, Misgendering, And Deadnaming People

TikTok has announced major changes to its community guidelines to protect user wellbeing — namely, cracking down on content like eating disorder glorification, which the company has previously been criticised for.

The direct promotion of eating disorders is already banned, but as we know all too well, content that inadvertently promotes this unhealthy behaviour has long run rampant on the platform.

In a major win for user safety on the platform, TikTok announced today that it will remove videos promoting eating disorder symptoms including overexercising and fasting.

“While we already remove content that promotes eating disorders, we’ll start to also remove the promotion of disordered eating. We’re making this change, in consultation with eating disorders experts, researchers, and physicians, as we understand that people can struggle with unhealthy eating patterns and behaviour without having an eating disorder diagnosis,” said TikTok in a statement.

“Our aim is to acknowledge more symptoms, such as overexercise or short-term fasting, that are frequently under-recognised signs of a potential problem. This is an incredibly nuanced area that’s difficult to consistently get right, and we’re working to train our teams to remain alert to a broader scope of content.

In addition to cracking down on eating disorder content, the new policy also expands on a ban on hateful ideologies and dangerous acts such as ‘suicide hoaxes’.

“This includes deadnaming, misgendering, or misogyny as well as content that supports or promotes conversion therapy programs. Though these ideologies have long been prohibited on TikTok, we’ve heard from creators and civil society organisations that it’s important to be explicit in our Community Guidelines,” a statement read.

While the new policy asserts that TikTok is further cracking down on this harmful behaviour, it’s worth noting that all of these things were already banned on the platform, but were still running rampant.

“We’ve made significant strides to improve our policies and enforcement, including our efficacy, speed, and consistency, though we recognise there’s no finish line when it comes to keeping people safe,” said TikTok.

The issue of pro-eating disorder content is far from a new problem and has been wreaking havoc on society for as long as social media has been part of our lives. And, as we saw with platforms like Tumblr more than a decade ago, it’s an incredibly complex issue to solve.

Only time will tell if the new policy reform will be enough to protect the audience, of which 10-19-year-olds make up 32.5 percent, from harmful content.