Belgium raises alarm over #SkinnyTok, anorexia fears on TikTok
Usually featuring and targeting young women, the videos promote ways of losing weight. — Reuters
BRUSSELS: Belgium raised the alarm Wednesday about videos promoting extreme thinness on TikTok, warning that the platform was failing to protect teenage girls from significant danger.
The Belgian government has informed the European Commission, in charge of regulating the world's biggest digital platforms in the EU, of its concerns about TikTok and the promotion of unhealthy beauty standards.
"TikTok's algorithm, by trapping young people in a spiral of extreme content, poses a major threat to their mental and physical health," Digital Minister Vanessa Matz said.
Matz said the danger was more acute "as summer approaches, a sensitive period for self-esteem" where there is more pressure online to get a so-called "beach body".
In response, TikTok said it did not allow the display or promotion of dangerous behaviours related to eating habits and weight loss.
But Matz pointed to posts on TikTok under keywords such as "skinny" or "Skinnytok" that were still visible despite warning banners.
Usually featuring and targeting young women, the videos promote ways of losing weight and sometimes associate beauty with seeing the contours of the body's bones.
Critics say the videos encourage eating disorders.
In Belgium, 15% of women aged 10 to 64 have suspected eating disorders, according to the Sciensano public health institute, compared with 11% of men.
Matz has contacted Belgium's telecoms regulator – which has the power to make a formal submission to the EU – and Irish authorities, which act on behalf of the bloc.
Like other Big Tech firms, TikTok's European headquarters are in Ireland.
Belgium is not alone in its fears, with calls growing in other EU countries for more pressure against TikTok to comply with the EU's landmark content moderation rules known as the Digital Services Act (DSA).
France too raised the alarm this month over the trend to French authorities and the EU.
Brussels has been probing TikTok since February 2024 for alleged DSA violations regarding the protection of minors and concerns about children's mental well-being.
A TikTok spokesperson said the platform had "strict rules against body shaming and dangerous weight loss behaviours", adding that "To protect teen viewers, we age-restrict content with harmful body ideals". – AFP
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