If you were thinking about promoting underage drug use on what is video call sex calledTikTok, think again. (Also, what's wrong with you?)
The massively popular video app that's filled the Vine-shaped hole in our hearts released comprehensive new community guidelines on Wednesday. There's plenty to dig through as it's a pretty long list of rules, but some notable differences include how the app will moderate drug use and fake news.
For instance, there's a whole subheading about "underage delinquent behavior" now. You can't post anything that depicts underage drug or alcohol use anymore. As Wirednoted, this will probably cut down on teen Juul videos that have become prevalent on the platform in recent years. Laws are laws, after all.
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Additionally, there are several bullet points concerning misinformation. TikTok now explicitly prohibits false content meant to incite hate or mislead people about upcoming elections. In case you haven't heard, there's one of those coming up later this year, and fake news was a pretty big talking point around the last one in 2016.
Aside from that, TikTok's new rulebook is essentially a longer and more specific version of the same one it had before. Then, there was just a vague point about not inciting hatred based on race, gender, etc. Now, you specifically can't claim people are "physically or morally inferior," call them criminals, or compare them to animals, among other things.
SEE ALSO: TikTok got an F for data accessibility. Who got an A?The new community guidelines came as part of a general new year glow-up for TikTok. The app also recently fixed a bunch of security problems, which is probably a good thing considering how popular it is among younger users. It's inadvisable to allow teens' data to get compromised.
Despite mostly catching on in the last couple years of the 2010s, TikTok managed to be one of the 10 most downloaded apps of the decade. Maybe these new rules will help it maintain that popularity going forward, or maybe kids will flock to whichever site lets them post Juul memes instead.
Topics Apps & Software TikTok