TikTok’s two-tier moderation. © Getty Images
When notoriety makes you more equal than the average person. In meeting recordings from the fall of 2021, obtained by Forbes, we learn that TikTok applies a two-speed moderation on its platform. The most popular social network in the world would make a clear distinction between users with more than 5 million subscribers and others. These accounts would benefit from a “creator label” granting them a form of immunity vis-à-vis the rules of use.
“We don’t want to treat these users like any other account. There is a little more leniency, I would say”, can we hear from the mouth of a member of the Trust & Safety team of TikTok. Statements confirmed by another participant in this meeting, a consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton interviewed by Forbeswho also clarified that he “was pretty straightforward that a famous person could post and I could post too, and if both were inappropriate, the famous person’s could still be posted”.
If Addison Rae shows off a piece of thong they might report it, while we might be a little more lenient
Asked about the existence of favoritism within moderation, Jamie Favazza, spokesperson for the company, replied that “TikTok is no more lenient in moderating accounts with more than 5 million followers”adding that “we don’t have moderation queues based on follower size”. This is not the first time that a social network has operated a tailor-made moderation according to accounts, but it is unprecedented to see this favoritism based on a simple number.
Violins not very tuned
Still according to the recordings collected by Forbes, dissonances of moderation seem to prevail within the company itself. TikTok would thus avoid using certain subcontractors “very stickler for the rules”. The head of crisis management operations reportedly requested that content on creator accounts not be moderated by a team of contractors in Kuala Lumpur due to their moderation rigidity. He would have said that “if Addison Rae (tiktoker with 88 million subscribers, Editor’s note) show a piece of thong, they might point it out, while we might be a bit more lenient”. After the recent investigation into misinformation on TikTok, these new revelations could make more than one cringe.