Latest news with #Skinnytok
Irish Times
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Should influencers and politicians share photographs of their children online?
Like most of us, you probably never heard of Tattle Life up to a week ago. A gossip forum founded seven years ago mainly dedicated to vivisecting female celebrities and influencers, justified by the age-old notion that she who makes a living in the public sphere is asking for it. Its big idea was to declare war on the mother of all easy targets: social media influencers, usually women. Distinguished by Nobel-worthy make-up artistry and gazelle-type bodies, they speak the language of feverishly busy grassroots mums, yet present as immaculately groomed and camera-ready, primed to endorse everything from skincare, swishy hair, food and fast fashion to 'medical' advice, fertility clinics and baby slings. It's only a couple of weeks since TikTok finally banned the search word 'Skinnytok', an influencer-led hashtag directing users towards content that 'idolises extreme thinness'. Benign, life-enhancing, harmful or simply entertaining, influencers are marketing strategists, content creators, lighting experts and advertising executives. Businesswomen, in short, often selling the dream of motherhood itself. READ MORE What they offer is little different from what was once the staple of women's magazines – except in a few respects. Their numbers have exploded, they're churning out the content several times a day and that content is their lives. And there is no shortage of people who are awed, curious, envious or furious about those lives. Two-thirds of UK millennials and more than eight in 10 of the UK's generation Z said they followed influencers in a 2023 Statista survey and it's a fair bet that some of them contributed to Tattle Life's influencer vivisections. No one ever went broke underestimating the savagery of a SuzyStarpie on a gossip site, especially about parenting and children. Typical Tattle Life comments: 'Disgusting vapid selfish woman who's [sic] opinion of herself is overinflated much like her daughter's stomach'; 'Lying unfit excuse for a mother'. But it's a vicious circle. Influencing can become a significant source of income, so it's hardly surprising that, as their offline lives adapt to new partner or new babies, influencers draft them in as hot online content, with inevitable consequences. One influencer told Jen Hogan that she was very upset that the trolls write about her children all the time, call them horrific names and even screenshot their images. Tattle Life homepage 20/06/2025 Some will nod despairingly at the idea of such gratuitous nastiness towards innocents. For others, it will cause more head-scratching. What kind of pressure impels a parent to send fully identifiable pictures of their children into the public gaze? Why post irretrievable images of little ones into a world often sinister, watchful and technologically capable of capturing them on the digital fringes forever? A charming picture of Simon Harris posing with his little son before a preschool event posted on LinkedIn, a professional networking platform, didn't stay there; it was forwarded to me on another platform. The fact that Harris's home has been targeted by protesters might imply a greater defensiveness around family images, but as a keen social media user, perhaps he takes a more philosophical view of the unavoidably surveillance-riddled world we now inhabit and refuses to be intimidated by it. Or perhaps he thinks of social media primarily as the glue that binds us all to our communities, old friends and distant family branches and is therefore worth defending? Either way, is it our place to tell any parent to take their children private for fear of being seen, however unfairly, as props of one kind or another ? Some think so. Last year, France adopted an anti-sharenting law that enshrines the protection of children's privacy on social media as a parental duty. It also gave judges the right to ban influencers from posting their child's image altogether. Combine the facts that a 13 year old already has an average of 1,300 images of themselves circulating on the internet and the Australian study that found that about half of paedophilic images online (of the 45 million they looked at) were sourced from social media, many initially posted by parents, and you see the extent of the problem. Parents who share are not rare. A 2017 UK Ofcom survey found that 42 per cent regularly posted or shared images of their children; only 15 per cent were worried about what their children might think about the shared content when they're older. Will it bother them as grown-ups that a chain of data exists attached to them and how it will be used by the most powerful companies on earth? How many of us could have predicted five years ago that, in a sleepy Spanish town in 2023, a group of local boys could use an AI computer app to convincingly strip naked 28 fully clothed girls aged between 11 and 17 and circulate them on WhatsApp and Telegram? Or that, in April, a 31-year-old Co Antrim man would be charged with producing pornographic images of a child (or in plain language, images of the sexual assault of a child) using deepfake technology, as well as possessing an image of extreme child sexual assault. They included babies under one. No one can tell us where the grotesque capabilities of dark AI and deepfakes will land us, still less the dangers of identity theft and digital kidnapping. If France's anti-sharenting law sounds annoyingly like the nanny state (literally) in action, it's only a start in terms of the unknown unknowns. Everyone – not just influencers – should know that by now.
Daily Mail
11-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
TikTok bans popular phrase and blocks its search results following concerns that it's 'harmful' and promotes eating disorders
TikTok has banned a widely used term and blocked all its search results amid concerns that it promotes eating disorders. A hashtag and also a self-proclaimed online community, 'Skinntytok' has now been censored by the social media platform for fear it promotes extreme thinness and unhealthy weight loss techniques. The video-sharing app implemented a worldwide crackdown on the term as of June 1, and took steps to restrict all search results for the hashtag. The company said the new restriction is part of a 'regular review' to 'address evolving risks' on the site, but follows concerns raised by European regulators, according to the Mirror. 'Skinnytok' posts are typically targeted at young women, and see content creators sharing weight-loss techniques and guidance deemed unhealthy by many. 'We have blocked search results for #skinnytok since it has become linked to unhealthy weight loss content,' TikTok spokesperson Paolo Ganino said in a statement last week. Now, users who search the term will be redirected to sources offering mental health support. Before the ban, content associated with the hashtag reached a problematic crescendo, with the app awash with young women glamourising eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. Both the European Commission and French digital regulator Arcom took notice and stepped in. The European Commission investigated the trend after France's Digital Minister Clara Chappaz pushed for an in-depth exploration of the online sphere, and created a public petition titled 'Stop Skinnytok'. When news of the ban broke, Clara wrote triumphantly on X: 'Skinnytok is OVER! This is a first collective victory. I salute it. 'However, the fight to protect our children online doesn't stop there. And I won't give up. Banning social media before 15 is my priority.' The platform's ban is extensive, and even suppresses searches for the term 'SkinnierTok'. Searching for either term on TikTok prompts the message: 'You're not alone. Searching for either 'Skinnytok' or 'Skinniertok' on TikTok prompts the above message urging users to seek support 'If you or someone you know has questions about body image, food or exercise – it is important to know that help is out there and you are not alone. 'If you feel comfortable, you can confide in someone you trust or check out the resources below. Please remember to take care of yourselves and each other.' Also provided is a helpline number and a link to the platform's Eating Disorder Safety Centre page. As many app users and content creators have already been quick to point out, banning the term is a win but not an absolute measure. Similar hashtags have been suppressed for safety reasons, but users have proved savvy in dodging the guidelines and creating alternative search terms, even if it means speaking in code. Nonetheless, social media platforms are being forced to take steps to protect the welfare of young and impressionable app users. Under the Online Safety Act, coming into force this summer, social media companies will have to respond to and remove harmful content more quickly. They will have to ensure they introduce rigorous age checking and take steps to tame dangerous algorithms. And, as per Ofcom's children's safety codes which were published last week, tech companies must begin to assess the risk of harm to children on their platforms. These protections will be legally enforceable from next month, and companies that do not comply could face serious penalties. Before the ban, 'Don't reward yourself with food, you're not a dog' was one of the so-called affirmations sweeping Skinnytok. Snappy phrases, inspired by Kate Moss's controversial 'Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels' saying, have become synonymous with restrictive diets that were being promoted. And while the body positivity movement of the 2010s sought to celebrate diverse bodies, it seems Gen Z has become consumed by 'glow-up culture' reminiscent of the 90s. Hiding behind a facade of gleaming exercise gear and Tupperware salads, the hashtag associated with more than half a million posts on TikTok promotes 1000-calorie diets and extreme exercise challenges. Sophia Healy, who struggled with anorexia for six years, said social media helped fuel her eating disorder - and fears this will have a similar impact on young girls. The 27-year-old told MailOnline: 'Social media 100 per cent glamorises it. 'You get some girls on TikTok talking about staying skinny and what they eat to stay skinny, like being skinny is the be-all and end-all, you have to be skinny to be happy. 'And then you get other people that constantly show what they eat in a day but it's the bare minimum thing but obviously you see it as a consumer and think I've got to eat like them to look like them. 'There was a time where curvy was considered "better". I followed influencers who were preaching body positivity and now they've suddenly got really skinny.'
Daily Mirror
09-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
TikTok blocks use of popular hashtag after concerns it promotes eating disorders
On June 1, TikTok blocked search results for 'Skinnytok' following a rising trend of dangerous content promoting eating disorders on the platform and concerns raised by European regulators TikTok has implemented a worldwide ban on a popular hashtag for its link to the promotion of extreme diets and exercise regimes. The company said the block is part of a regular review to 'address evolving risks' on its platform but comes after concerns were raised by European regulators. As of June 1, TikTok has blocked search results for 'SkinnyTok' and removed the hashtag globally. Content associated with the hashtag typically included videos targeting young women promoting extreme thinness and unhealthy ways to lose weight. "[We] have blocked search results for #skinnytok since it has become linked to unhealthy weight loss content," TikTok spokesperson Paolo Ganino said in a statement issued on Monday, June 2. Ganino said the move is part of a "regular review" of TikTok's safety measures "to address evolving risks". Users who now search for the hashtag will be directed to mental health support. The ban follows a boom in the trend in recent months, which saw the platform flooded with videos for and by young women glamourizing eating disorders like anorexia. The rise in the dangerous content reached the attention of both the European Commission and the French digital regulator Arcom. The European Commission investigated the 'Skinnytok' trend after France's Digital Minister Clara Chappaz lobbied for an investigation and created a public petition entitled to 'Stop Skinnytok'. After news of the ban was made public, Chappaz shared her excitement on X. 'Skinnytok is OVER!' the minister posted. 'This is a first collective victory. I salute it. However, the fight to protect our children online doesn't stop there. And I won't give up. Banning social media before 15 is my priority.' The protection of kids online is growing priority as countries consider proposals for new EU rules to curb children's social media use. TikTok's duty to guard against the harmful effects of the SkinnyTok hashtag were a feature of a call between the EU's Consumer Protection Commissioner Michael McGrath and TikTok CEO Shou Chew, as reported by Politico . Currently any search for 'skinnytok' or even 'skinniertok' yields the following message: 'You're not alone. If you or someone you know has questions about body image, food or exercise – it is important to know that help is out there and you are not alone. If you feel comfortable, you can confide in someone you trust or check out the resources below. Please remember to take care of yourselves and each other.' Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We'd love to hear from you! The message is followed by a help phone number and a link to the platform's Eating Disorder Safety Centre page. While it's a step forward, the ban will not necessarily mean the 'Skinnytok' trend is over. The TikTok community has a strong track record of pivoting with agility to navigate new regulations and user guidelines with new hashtags and code words. Still, social media platforms are being forced to take more accountability for the wellbeing of young users. A legal responsibility for online services to make their sites safe for children will finally come into force in this summer. Under the Online Safety Act, social media firms will be ordered to ensure they tame toxic algorithms, take faster action on removing harmful content and introduce proper age checks on their platforms. Tech companies will now be expected to begin assessing the risk of harm to children on their platforms after Ofcom's final children's safety codes were published today. From July these protections will be fully enforceable and services that don't comply could face serious enforcement action from Ofcom.
RTÉ News
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Calls for Tiktok accountability over 'SkinnyTok' trend
RTE's Eithne Dodd reports on the depiction of extreme diets on the controversial Tiktok hashtag 'Skinnytok'.
