Latest news with #ClaraChappaz
Arabian Post
a day ago
- Health
- Arabian Post
TikTok Eliminates #SkinnyTok Amid Mounting Pressure Over Harmful Diet Content
TikTok has removed the hashtag #SkinnyTok from its platform, responding to escalating concerns over content promoting extreme weight loss and disordered eating behaviours. Users searching for the term are now redirected to resources offering support for body image and eating disorders. The decision follows sustained scrutiny from European regulators, particularly in France, where officials have criticised the platform for enabling the spread of content that glamorises unhealthy body standards. Clara Chappaz, France's Minister for Digital Affairs, characterised the removal as a 'collective victory' and reiterated her commitment to safeguarding minors online. TikTok stated that the hashtag had become associated with content violating its community guidelines by promoting dangerous dieting practices, including extreme calorie restriction and excessive water consumption. Although the platform had previously attempted to mitigate exposure by restricting such content to users over 18 and adjusting search suggestions, many harmful videos continued to circulate. ADVERTISEMENT The platform has faced criticism for featuring influencers like Liv Schmidt, who promoted these dangerous practices. Her content was eventually removed after media scrutiny, and she later lost her monetisation privileges on Instagram as well. Despite the removal of the hashtag, concerns persist. Typing 'SkinnyTok' into the app now redirects users to wellness advice, but similar harmful content still thrives under altered or misspelled hashtags. Advocates argue that while the ban is a positive step, it is insufficient to address the broader issue of harmful content on the platform. TikTok's actions come amid a broader push by the European Union to hold social media platforms accountable for harmful content. The European Commission has been investigating TikTok's risk management of addictive design and harmful content since February 2024. The platform's decision to ban #SkinnyTok may be seen as an effort to demonstrate compliance with regulatory expectations. Experts warn that the proliferation of content promoting disordered eating on social media platforms like TikTok can have serious consequences for young users' mental health. Studies have shown that exposure to such content can lead to increased body dissatisfaction and a higher risk of developing eating disorders. Health professionals emphasise the need for more robust content moderation and greater awareness of the dangers posed by these online communities.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
TikTok blocks #SkinnyTok due to extreme weight loss, disordered eating content
TikTok says it has blocked search results for the hashtag "SkinnyTok"due to a high volume of content that was promoting disordered eating and unhealthy weight loss behaviours on the social media platform. "We regularly review our safety measures to address evolving risks and have blocked search results for #skinnytok since it has become linked to unhealthy weight loss content," said a statement from TikTok emailed to CBC News Wednesday. "We continue to restrict videos from teen accounts and provide health experts and information in TikTok Search," the statement read. The term SkinnyTok has become widely used to describe an online subculture of influencers and content creators that promote extreme thinness. Under the umbrella of #SkinnyTok, creators make videos with snappy one-liners such as, "Skinny is the outfit," encouraging viewers to achieve their goals by following extreme weight loss advice. LISTEN | How viral social media trends around body image impact young men: Now, searches for SkinnyTok will yield no results except for a message that prompts users to check out expert resources. In Canada, viewers will see contact information and links for groups such as the National Eating Disorder Information Centre and Anorexie et boulimie Québec. TikTok's decision to block SkinnyTok came after the platform noted an increase in content promoting disordered eating and unhealthy weight loss behaviours earlier this year, according to the spokesperson. In April, France's Minister of State for Digital Affairs Clara Chappaz reported the hashtag to the country's digital watchdog and the European Commission. Chappaz and French nurse Charlyne Buigues have been campaigning to have TikTok block the hashtag since April. A petition Buigues started to get the hashtag banned gained nearly 35,000 signatures. On June 1, Chappaz said in French on X: "Today, @tiktok just confirmed to me that it has finally removed this unacceptable hashtag from its platform. This is a first collective victory. I salute it."
CBC
a day ago
- Health
- CBC
TikTok blocks #SkinnyTok due to extreme weight loss, disordered eating content
TikTok says it has blocked search results for the hashtag "SkinnyTok"due to a high volume of content that was promoting disordered eating and unhealthy weight loss behaviours on the social media platform. "We regularly review our safety measures to address evolving risks and have blocked search results for #skinnytok since it has become linked to unhealthy weight loss content," said a statement from TikTok emailed to CBC News Wednesday. "We continue to restrict videos from teen accounts and provide health experts and information in TikTok Search," the statement read. The term SkinnyTok has become widely used to describe an online subculture of influencers and content creators that promote extreme thinness. Under the umbrella of #SkinnyTok, creators make videos with snappy one-liners such as, " Skinny is the outfit," encouraging viewers to achieve their goals by following extreme weight loss advice. Now, searches for SkinnyTok will yield no results except for a message that prompts users to check out expert resources. In Canada, viewers will see contact information and links for groups such as the National Eating Disorder Information Centre and Anorexie et boulimie Québec. TikTok's decision to block SkinnyTok came after the platform noted an increase in content promoting disordered eating and unhealthy weight loss behaviours earlier this year, according to the spokesperson. In April, France's Minister of State for Digital Affairs Clara Chappaz reported the hashtag to the country's digital watchdog and the European Commission. Chappaz and French nurse Charlyne Buigues have been campaigning to have TikTok block the hashtag since April. A petition Buigues started to get the hashtag banned gained nearly 35,000 signatures. On June 1, Chappaz said in French on X: "Today, @tiktok just confirmed to me that it has finally removed this unacceptable hashtag from its platform. This is a first collective victory. I salute it."
Fast Company
2 days ago
- Health
- Fast Company
TikTok bans the #SkinnyTok hashtag for unhealthy weight-loss content. Will it actually solve the problem?
TikTok, a platform where misinformation and dangerous rhetoric often spreads far and wide, has officially removed the #SkinnyTok hashtag from its search results. The hashtag had become a space for creators to promote restrictive eating and other forms of unhealthy weight-loss content. TikTok spokesperson Paolo Ganino told Politico that the move was part of a 'regular review' of the platform's risks, but it followed considerable pressure from the European Union. Fast Company has reached out to TikTok for comment and will update this post if we hear back. 'Revolting and absolutely unacceptable' In April, France's minister for digital media, Clara Chappaz, requested that the nation's media regulator, Arcom, look into the hashtag. The agency teamed up with the European Commission to review the 'revolting and absolutely unacceptable' videos, as Chappaz described them. The European Commission has also been investigating TikTok's 'risk management of addictive design and harmful content' since February 2024. Users searching #SkinnyTok will now see a landing page that reads, 'If you or someone you know has questions about body image, food, or exercise—it is important to know that help is out there and you are not alone. If you feel comfortable, you can confide in someone you trust or check out the resources below. Please remember to take care of yourselves and each other.' It also has a resources link with an explainer on eating disorders, steps to take if you or your friend needs support, and emergency information. TikTok's community guidelines prohibit videos that promote eating disorders and dangerous weight loss behaviors, and selling or promoting products to lose weight. Last year, TikTok even banned Liv Schmidt, a popular user known for posting controversial eating habits, for violating community guidelines. However, she freely posted to her 670,000 followers until The Wall Street Journal sent questions to TikTok for a profile on Schmidt. She created a new account following her ban. Could other platforms see a #SkinnyTok spillover? Now, #SkinnyTok might be gone from TikTok's search results, but who's to say that users won't migrate to another hashtag or platform to keep sharing these harmful videos? Despite the community guidelines, this content continued out in the open through a well-known hashtag. Before regulatory agencies stepped in, users who searched for #SkinnyTok would see a message from TikTok stating, 'You are more than your weight,' accompanied by a resources button. But the harmful content followed right behind it, violating the rules and risking the health of the users who absorbed it. TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, has 1.58 billion monthly users, according to data from SproutSocial. Its largest audience is in the United States.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Pornhub blocks access in France to protest age restrictions
Pornhub blocks access in France to protest age restrictions Pornhub, Redtube and Youporn were scheduled to be suspended in France on Wednesday, according to parent company Aylo. Instead of porn, the company will only display a statement on France's new regulations that require porn sites to verify that their users are 18 or older, a Pornhub spokesperson said on Tuesday. Alyo's sites, like other porn sites available in France, has until June 7, 2025, to implement a rigorous new age verification standard. It's part of a French government push to shield minors from inappropriate content. France's Deputy Minister for Digital Technology Clara Chappaz defended the government's move late on Tuesday. "We're not stigmatizing adults who want to consume this content, but we mustn't do so at the expense of protecting our children," she told France's Europe 1 TV. The sites aren't protecting children, so it is now the government's responsibility, she said. What is Aylo's issue with the age-verification law? Currently, users to explicit sites can click a a box declaring they are over 18, but their age isn't actually verified. France's new standard requires explicit websitesto verify a user's age using a credit card or a government-issued ID document. And to protect users' identities, the standard requires porn sites to use an external site for this age verification. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 새로 나온 '암보험' 최적가 가입추천! "보험사별 맞춤설계+할인 혜택"… 굿리치 보험대리점 (등록번호:제2006038313호) 가격 받기 Undo Using a principle known as double anonymity, the porn sites will then only receive confirmation that the person is of legal age and will not know their identity. The external service provider will know the identity of the user but not the reason for the age check or the sites the user visits. Alyo has said that it is in favor of age verification but says it should be done on the devices used rather than on the websites visited. The porn industry giant has called the French government's measure potentially privacy infringing and ineffective. In a post on X on Tuesday, deputy minister Chappaz said the standard, with its double anonymity, guaranteed privacy. "It's unacceptable to lie when you don't want to respect the law," she posted. "If Aylo would rather leave France than apply our law, they are free to do so." How many minors watch porn in France? Users in France account for Pornhub's second largest audience after the United States, according to Pornhub's own statistics for 2024. And, says France's digital and audiovisual communication regulator Arcom, some 2.3 million minors access porn websites every month in the country. That's 12% of France's total number of porn users. Adult content platforms have come under fire elsewhere in the European Union. EU regulators said last month that they would investigate several porn sites, including Pornhub, for failing to comply with rules to protect children.
