The country’s media regulator expressed strong concern to tech firm TikTok earlier this year as controversy raged over videos featuring on the platform relating to self-harm and misogyny.
“The gravity of these matters, with particular regard to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people, cannot be understated,” Coimisiún na Meán told the company.
Just before 9.30am on April 16th, hours before RTÉ Prime Time broadcast an investigation into younger users being exposed to harmful videos, the regulator contacted the company.
“I am very concerned about the report on RTÉ concerning self-harm and suicide on TikTok,” Niamh Hodnett, online safety commissioner with Coimisiún na Meán, wrote in an email.
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“Could you please call me on this and provide me with an update on what steps TikTok is taking to address the promotion of self-harm or suicide on its platform.”
Prime Time had created three TikTok accounts, ostensibly operated by users who were 13 years of age.
RTÉ said that within a few minutes the actual operator of the accounts had come across a stream of content related to depression, self-harm and suicide.
Around the same time in mid April, separate research carried out by the Anti-Bullying Centre at Dublin City University (DCU) showed TikTok and YouTube users were being fed “masculinist, antifeminist and other extremist content, irrespective of whether they sought out general or male supremacist-related content, and that they all received this content within the first 23 minutes of the experiment”.
Documents released by Coimisiún na Meán show that it had met TikTok management on April 18th, the day after DCU published its research and two days after the RTÉ report.
In a letter to TikTok following that meeting Ms Hodnett said the regulator remained concerned about these matters.
“Toxic feeds concerning self harm and/or suicide, or misogyny recently highlighted by the RTÉ Prime Time report of 16th April and the DCU Anti-Bullying Centre study published on 17th April are among the most harmful for children and young people who are particularly vulnerable and susceptible to influence.”
TikTok wrote to Ms Hodnett on April 24th in a letter marked “confidential” saying that “the safety and security of our community is a top priority”.
TikTok said that “content depicting, promoting, normalising or glorifying activities that could lead to suicide or self harm is a direct breach of our community guidelines”.
“We do not permit TikTok community members to share content depicting them partaking in, or encouraging others to partake in, dangerous activities that may lead to serious injury or death,” it said.
The company said that more than 98 per cent of content that was in violation of these guidelines was proactively removed, with over 77 per cent being taken down before it received a single view.
On May 5th TikTok wrote to executive chairman of Coimisiún na Meán, Jeremy Godfrey, and said it welcomed the opportunity to participate in consultations with the regulator, including on future safety codes.
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