TikTok drops ‘blunt’ cyberbullying policy

HONG KONG: TikTok has dropped a “blunt” cyberbullying policy, the Chinese-owned video sharing app said yesterday after a report it hid posts by disabled, gay and overweight people.

People deemed “susceptible to harassment or cyberbullying based on their physical or mental condition” had the reach of their posts restricted, German site NetzPolitik.org reported, citing leaked documents from TikTok.

People with facial disfigurements, autism and Down syndrome were among those to have their posts dumped down TikTok’s algorithm so others on the social network would not see them, the report said.

Gay and overweight people “also ended up on a list of ‘special users’ whose videos were regarded as a bullying risk by default and capped in their reach,” the report said.

When asked about the report, TikTok told

AFP yesterday it now recognised “the approach was wrong” and said it had dropped the policy.

“Early on, in response to an increase in bullying on the app, we implemented a blunt and temporary policy. This was never designed to be a long-term solution, but rather a way to help manage a troubling trend,” a TikTok spokesman said.

“While the intention was good, it became clear that the approach was wrong and we have since removed the policy in favour of more nuanced anti-bullying policies and in-app protections.”

TikTok did not respond to a follow-up query about the specifics of the policy. It did not say when the policy was dropped.

However, according to NetzPolitik.org, the restrictions could involve limiting posts to a local rather than global audience.

Those deemed most vulnerable had their posts put in a “not recommend” category so they were made nearly invisible, it said.

“Strictly speaking, such videos are not deleted, but in fact they hardly have an audience,” the report said.

TikTok, launched by Chinese company ByteDance in September 2017, has quickly become one of the most popular social networks in the world, with young people its main market.

In November, the app hit 1.5 billion downloads worldwide, outperforming Instagram.

Users typically post short clips of themselves performing skits, lip-syncing and dancing.

But TikTok has come under scrutiny recently over whether it censors content deemed sensitive by China’s authoritarian rulers.

HOTTEST TEMPERATURES Temperatures in July 2019 were the hottest ever recorded globally at an average of 16.75°C for the planet, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced. A heatwave in Europe the same month reset several record highs: 42.6°C for Paris; 41.5°C for Germany; and 38.7°C in Britain.

FACEBOOK FINE

Facebook was in July slapped with the largest ever fine – US$5 billion – imposed on any company for violating consumers’ privacy. Announcing the penalty, the Federal Trade Commission said it was also one of the largest ever issued by the US government for any violation.

MONSTER SALE

Chinese consumers spent a record US$38.3 billion on Alibaba platforms in the annual 24-hour “Singles’ Day” buying spree in November. It was a jump of 26% from the previous record high a year earlier, the e-commerce giant said.

ART AUCTION HIGHS

Amid furious Brexit wrangling, Banksy’s “Devolved Parliament” painting depicting lawmakers as chimps was sold at auction in October for €11.1 million, a record for the British artist. A new auction record for a work by a living artist was set in May when Jeff Koons’ stainless steel “Rabbit” fetched US$91.1 million.

SUMMIT SPEEDSTER

Nepali mountaineer

Nirmal Purja summited all of the world’s 14 highest peaks in just six months and six days fromApril to October, smashing the previous record for the feat of almost eight years.

LONGEST FLIGHT

Qantas completed the longest nonstop passenger flight in October, taking 19 hours and 16 minutes to test a direct route from New York to

Sydney. Just 49 people travelled on the Boeing 787-9 to minimise the weight on board and give the plane sufficient fuel range to travel more than 16,000km without re-fuelling.

SMALLEST SURVIVOR

Around the weight of a large apple when she was born, Saybie was announced in May by a California hospital to be the world’s smallest baby ever to survive. After discharging her following months of intensive care, the San Diego hospital disclosed that she had been born prematurely in December 2018 weighing a mere 24g.

MILLION-DOLLAR PARKING

A parking space in Hong Kong’s The Centre skyscraper sold in October for a whopping HK$7.6 million, about the price of a one-bedroom apartment in London’s plush Chelsea. – AFP