ByteDance, the parent company of Tiktok, has announced new rules for the Chinese version of the app, Douyin. Among other things, they prohibit content representing LGBTQ+ people.
This is a change that was made discreetly on the site of ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok. In a publication soberly titled ” announcement regarding the special control of short videos and posted on the app’s developer forum in October 2022, ByteDance explains that new steps have been taken to ” ensure the quality of video content “.
The post didn’t get much publicity when it came out — it’s the specialized media IPVM which spotted it on January 3, 2023, some months later. However, ByteDance’s announcement is very important and it completely changes the face of the app: it bans a lot of content, including depictions of LGBTQ+ people.
Of the ” unhealthy and unconventional views on marriage and love »
ByteDance’s text is not about TikTok, but about its China-only clone, Douyin. Videos in violation of the new rules will be removed, and accounts that posted them may be frozen and shadow-banned, Douyin said.
The list of new bans is long, and even concerns videos with fairly trivial problems (it is indicated that those whose subtitles contain too many grammatical errors may be concerned). Are now censored:
- videos ” attacking China’s political and judicial system », and those « tarnishing his image »,
- videos ” criticizing the Chinese military ” and the ” members of the Chinese Communist Party”,
- videos ” denigrating the excellent Chinese cultural traditions “, but also those ” promoting feudal superstitions »,
- videos ” promoting unhealthy and unconventional views on marriage and love that are unethical “.
As IPVM notes, the expression ” unhealthy and unconventional views on marriage and love comes directly from a Chinese government law governing the moderation of videos on the Internet.
While the term itself does not directly refer to LGBT couples, there is evidence that this new ban specifically targets them. IPVM thus found a Douyin video, in which its creator shows that another of his videos, where one of his friends pretends to kiss him, was deleted for ” unconventional views on marriage and love “.
TikTok and Douyin, which have the same functionalities and the same design, both obey very different rules. TikTok, which is available worldwide except in China, is a social network known for its LGBTQ+ community. In June 2022, the app even organized his own pride month in France, for celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community and recall its commitment against discrimination.
Douyin, which is only available in China, does not even include a ban on homophobic comments in its terms of service.
