The hashtag #tiktokexposed trended on Tiktok was exposed for, and whether it's something we should all pay attention to. The reality is the issue captures the importance of moderation in social media and the impacts of a lack thereof.
TikTok is no stranger to controversy as the popularity of the relatively new platform has brought with it relationship with the Chinese government or a result of its problematic policy biases when it comes to promoting certain s, many people just don't trust TikTok.
The #tiktokexposed controversy going on today centers around a recent collection of concerning posts from TikTok s in India. The posts cover a wide range of troubling issues: some have made jokes about sexual activity with underage girls and others show outright groping of women. The tipping point though seems to be Instagram called TikTokIndia even reposts such videos there. The currently has almost half a million followers.
The Faizal Siddiqui acid attack video caused a huge social media outcry and eventually reached the desk of Rekha Sharma, a chairperson on India's National Commission for Women, a governmental body. Shortly after, she announced a plan to formally bring the issue to the Government of India, TikTok India's staff, and law enforcement officials, while also heavily criticizing the platform and suggesting it be banned in India.
Twitter Pushes for a TikTok Ban
While it remains popular even in India, TikTok has drawn the ire of large portions of the country's internet citizenship. s took to Twitter ing #tiktokexposed and sharing videos they thought validated the stance. The recent issue with YouTube star CarryMinati's "YouTube vs. TikTok - The End" Google Play Store and give the app a one-star rating. It dropped from 4.5 to 2 stars out of five in just the last few days.
A full ban of TikTok is extremely unlikely as India is one of the app's most popular demographics. As with the other versions of TikTok around the world, the Indian iteration has policies against videos depicting violence, sexism, and sexual abuse. The videos involved in #tiktokexposed clearly don't trust TikTok to take adequate action. As of this writing, it's possible to find TikTok videos showing "comedic" violence against women without even logging into an .
If the company is serious about reducing the role it plays in promoting violence, it simply isn't doing enough to demonstrate that. The content s aren't doing a good enough job if these clips are going viral and reaching the desks of politicians. These types of videos do exist on other social media platforms in India but TikTok has the spotlight right now and should meet that responsibility. Instead, its budding stars and viral videos are bittersweet as its popularity continues to breed more monsters.
Source: Twitter