TikTok will now tell users exactly why it has removed their videos amid confusion over disappearing posts

The company is rolling out the change globally

(Hello I’m Nik)

TikTok has updated its community guidelines so that people who have had their videos removed from the platform will now be informed why.

“For the past few months, we've been experimenting with a new notification system to bring creators more clarity around content removals”, TikTok said in a blog post. 

“Our goals are to enhance the transparency and education around our Community Guidelines to reduce misunderstandings about content on our platform”

The viral video app company claimed that its enforcement actions has reduced the rate of repeat violations, and visits to read the company’s Community Guidelines have nearly tripled.

It also says that it has seen a 14 per cent reduction in appeals from users to reinstate videos.

The company says it is now rolling out the change globally.

As well as this update, TikTok is detecting content that might be related to self-harm or suicide.

When it does, the company will provide links to specialist organisations, such as Befrienders Worldwide, and a list of frequently-asked-questions to try and direct users to beneficial resources.

In its transparency report  from July, TikTok said that it had removed over 49 million videos in the six months prior.

This accounts for less than one per cent of all the videos uploaded to the site.

Over a quarter of the videos were taken down for adult nudity and sexual acts, while others were removed for “depicting harmful, dangerous, or illegal behaviour by minors” such as  alcohol or more serious narcotics.

Recently, the company has had to crack down on QAnon-related content, banning accounts that promote the conspiracy theory and making it harder to find that content across search and hashtags.

"Content and accounts that promote QAnon violate our disinformation policy and we remove them from our platform," a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement.

The QAnon conspiracy theory states that president Donald Trump is fighting a Satan-worshipping cabal of paedophiles who are plotting to enslave the world.

One in four Britons believe in conspiracy theories related to the movement.

TikTok is also taking a stronger stance against antisemitic and Islamophobic content, removing videos and hashtags that spreads misinformation and hurtful stereotypes.