TikTok now blocks searches for #SkinnyTok (#19459000)
TikTo””elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:1;pos:1″ ” Data-Ylk=””slk:shows;elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:1;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”” href=””https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/business/tiktok-skinnytok-ban.html” ” rel=””nofollow noopener” ” target=””_blank” “> Shows results of searches for the hashtag #SkinnyTok. Critics who supported the block said that some videos with this label promoted disordered eating or other unhealthy or risky behaviors. We have reached out to TikTok to get their take on this. Clara Chappaz, France’s Minister for Digital Affairs, was one of the politicians who led thepushback against this hashtag. She has been fighting against #SkinnyTok sinceApril with both French regulators and EU regulators. “These videos promoting extreme thinness are revolting and absolutely unacceptable,” Chappaz said. While blocking search results that contain potentially harmful hashtags may be a positive move, it will only place obstacles in the way of people who are looking for similar videos. Cornell University professor Brooke Erin Duffy spoke to The New York Times. “They know how to work these platforms and how to evade their content moderation systems.”
Blocking a hashtag is the latest in TikTok’s piecemeal approach to content that could encourage eating disorder. In 2020, it implemented restrictions on ads “promote a negative or harmful body image,” that could”promote a negative or harmful body image,”like fasting apps and weight-loss supplements. In 2021, TikTok launched a collaboration to provide more resources for those with eating disorders. Later that same year, TikTok introduced a new approach on the For You page to try to reduce the negative impact of watching too much repeated content.
