TikTok bans popular phrase and blocks its search results following concerns that it's 'harmful' and promotes eating disorders
TikTok has banned a widely used term and blocked all its search results amid concerns that it promotes eating disorders.
A hashtag and also a self-proclaimed online community, 'Skinntytok' has now been censored by the social media platform for fear it promotes extreme thinness and unhealthy weight loss techniques.
The video-sharing app implemented a worldwide crackdown on the term as of June 1, and took steps to restrict all search results for the hashtag.
The company said the new restriction is part of a 'regular review' to 'address evolving risks' on the site, but follows concerns raised by European regulators, according to the Mirror.
'Skinnytok' posts are typically targeted at young women, and see content creators sharing weight-loss techniques and guidance deemed unhealthy by many.
'We have blocked search results for #skinnytok since it has become linked to unhealthy weight loss content,' TikTok spokesperson Paolo Ganino said in a statement last week.
Now, users who search the term will be redirected to sources offering mental health support.
Before the ban, content associated with the hashtag reached a problematic crescendo, with the app awash with young women glamourising eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia.
Both the European Commission and French digital regulator Arcom took notice and stepped in.
The European Commission investigated the trend after France's Digital Minister Clara Chappaz pushed for an in-depth exploration of the online sphere, and created a public petition titled 'Stop Skinnytok'.
When news of the ban broke, Clara wrote triumphantly on X: 'Skinnytok is OVER! This is a first collective victory. I salute it.
'However, the fight to protect our children online doesn't stop there. And I won't give up. Banning social media before 15 is my priority.'
The platform's ban is extensive, and even suppresses searches for the term 'SkinnierTok'.
Searching for either term on TikTok prompts the message: 'You're not alone.
Searching for either 'Skinnytok' or 'Skinniertok' on TikTok prompts the above message urging users to seek support
'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.'
Also provided is a helpline number and a link to the platform's Eating Disorder Safety Centre page.
As many app users and content creators have already been quick to point out, banning the term is a win but not an absolute measure.
Similar hashtags have been suppressed for safety reasons, but users have proved savvy in dodging the guidelines and creating alternative search terms, even if it means speaking in code.
Nonetheless, social media platforms are being forced to take steps to protect the welfare of young and impressionable app users.
Under the Online Safety Act, coming into force this summer, social media companies will have to respond to and remove harmful content more quickly.
They will have to ensure they introduce rigorous age checking and take steps to tame dangerous algorithms.
And, as per Ofcom's children's safety codes which were published last week, tech companies must begin to assess the risk of harm to children on their platforms.
These protections will be legally enforceable from next month, and companies that do not comply could face serious penalties.
Before the ban, 'Don't reward yourself with food, you're not a dog' was one of the so-called affirmations sweeping Skinnytok.
Snappy phrases, inspired by Kate Moss's controversial 'Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels' saying, have become synonymous with restrictive diets that were being promoted.
And while the body positivity movement of the 2010s sought to celebrate diverse bodies, it seems Gen Z has become consumed by 'glow-up culture' reminiscent of the 90s.
Hiding behind a facade of gleaming exercise gear and Tupperware salads, the hashtag associated with more than half a million posts on TikTok promotes 1000-calorie diets and extreme exercise challenges.
Sophia Healy, who struggled with anorexia for six years, said social media helped fuel her eating disorder - and fears this will have a similar impact on young girls.
The 27-year-old told MailOnline: 'Social media 100 per cent glamorises it.
'You get some girls on TikTok talking about staying skinny and what they eat to stay skinny, like being skinny is the be-all and end-all, you have to be skinny to be happy.
'And then you get other people that constantly show what they eat in a day but it's the bare minimum thing but obviously you see it as a consumer and think I've got to eat like them to look like them.
'There was a time where curvy was considered "better". I followed influencers who were preaching body positivity and now they've suddenly got really skinny.'
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