Tiktok on mobile, photo: Rafael Henrique / Dreamstime.com
The French Minister for Digital Affairs, Clara Chappaz, announced on Friday that he had notified the European Commission and the National Massion Regulatory Authority about the “Skinnytok” phenomenon on the Tiktok social network, which promotes extreme weight loss.
“Skinnytok, a tendency that promotes extreme weakening on the Internet. Unacceptable,” the French minister wrote in a message posted on LinkedIn, stating that he notified the European and Authority Commission at Communication Audioviselle et Numreique (Arom), reports France Presse and Agerpres.
“I make the protection of minors online one of my priorities,” she added in a video recording posted on Tiktok, the largest social network in the world, giving assurances that she will not let “platforms to dodge from their responsibilities.”
Hundreds of thousands of posts with “skinnytok”
ARCOM has told AFP that “it has already taken care of this problem, given the risk of public health that this phenomenon can represent.” The authority also stated that it wants to “collect the information needed to characterize this risk in France” and “to find out what means Tiktok has implemented to respond to it.”
Contacted by AFP, Tiktok had no immediate reaction.
On the network, the keyword “skinny” was associated with over 500,000 posts until Friday at noon.
These videos, which present mainly young women, contain tips on how to lose weight.
Tiktok platform, particularly popular among young people
The platform has introduced an prevention message, displayed in the form of a banner above the posts, which leads to a page about food disorders.
At the beginning of March, French deputies approved the creation of a commission to investigate the psychological effects of Tiktok on children and adolescents, because the social network is particularly popular among young people.
President of ARCOM, Martin Ajdari, will be heard by this commission on May 20.
