Social media giant TikTok has moved to ban ads for weight loss supplements and fasting apps, while also restricting any ads that “promote a harmful and negative body image”.
Such ads have become a problem on TikTok, which boasts a predominantly younger audience with more than a third of its 49 million U.S. daily users younger than 15 years of age.
As TikTok grows in popularity, users have noticed an increase in weight loss ads on the app, which is a cause of concern for the social media company.
“These types of ads do not support the positive, inclusive, and safe experience we strive for on TikTok,” the company said in a statement.
TikTok is also introducing new policies to “combat problematic and exaggerated claims in diet and weight loss products, and placing stronger restrictions on weight loss claims and references to body image,” it said in a blog post.
TikTok also said it’s partnering with the National Eating Disorders Association to help users access resources directly from the app.
“As part of this, we’ll soon begin redirecting searches and hashtags – for terms provided to us by NEDA, or associated with unsafe content we’ve removed from our platform – to the NEDA Helpline, where NEDA can then provide our community with confidential support, tools, and resources,” a blog post stated.
The comes just days after a deal between TikTok, Oracle and Walmart was approved by US President Donald Trump, which will allow the app to continue operating in the US with the creation of a new US-based company named TikTok global.
