TikTok will finally allow sexually explicit content, but only for adults.
The Chinese social network TikTok continues to grow and diversify its offer to the general public. This week, the platform announced plans to expand its audience control feature, allowing creators to limit their videos to adults only. From now on it is possible to block certain content for the youngest users based on the age specified in the user profiles.
OnlyFans is not included for the time being
After that announcement, one might have expected TikTok to finally revamp its explicit content-themed copy for an adult audience. The success of competing models like OnlyFans and Mym is well established and the prohibition of certain videos for minors under the age of 18 could open up new perspectives – especially financial ones – for the Chinese social network.
Not a big difference, but TikTok has no plans (yet?) to monetize lewd and pornographic content. Access restrictions for minors are always subject to the terms of use of the application. Even content marked 18+ is still prohibited from sharing sexually explicit videos. The nuance actually concerns “suggestive” releases. Already forbidden in the FYP tab of the application, these are now assumed very relative exception. It remains to be seen how the platform intends to distinguish the suggestive from the explicit.
The project was tested early last year and should be available worldwide within a few months. It’s part of a long-term process on the part of the company, which tries by all means to protect the youngest from inappropriate content hosted on its platform.
Keep in mind that despite the social network’s best efforts, videos — especially live — sometimes escape the scrutiny of moderators. On the verge of sexually explicit publications, video of a man taking his own life with a gunshot wound to the head sparked widespread panic. The pictures went viral at the time without the company being able to do anything about the problem.
If TikTok plans to block certain content for minors, the challenge for the social network is to effectively verify users’ ages. Officially, you must be over 13 to use the platform’s features, but there’s no really reliable method.