Douyin Cracks Down on Harmful Content Involving Minors, Disposes of 200,000 Violating Items in One Month
Douyin has released a public notice regarding its ongoing efforts to regulate harmful content involving minors, announcing that it disposed of 200,000 violating items over the past month as part of a broader campaign to clean up its platform environment.
According to the announcement issued on September 10, the platform recently identified a range of problematic behaviors by certain accounts, including exploiting minors-related tags to manufacture controversy, using AI to generate distressing images of minors, and adults disguising themselves as minors during livestreams. These activities, the company said, have seriously disrupted the platform’s community ecosystem.
Over the past month, Douyin took action against 200,000 pieces of violating content, shut down 2,044 rule-breaking livestreaming rooms, and penalized 8,132 accounts. The platform highlighted several typical cases of violations. In one instance, accounts used parenting-related tags to spread content featuring violence and pranks. In another, users employed AI technology to generate fake distressing imagery, such as scenes depicting burn injuries, in order to elicit emotional reactions and boost engagement. Additionally, some adult streamers were found impersonating minors to attract viewers during live broadcasts.
Douyin stated that it will continue to upgrade its technological identification capabilities and take strict measures against such violations, aiming to build a solid defense for minors’ online safety. The platform urged users to report any harmful content they encounter and reiterated its commitment to maintaining a safe and healthy digital environment for young users.
The announcement reflects broader regulatory pressure on Chinese internet platforms to strengthen protections for minors online, as authorities increasingly scrutinize content that could harm underage users. Douyin’s latest move signals its ongoing effort to align with these requirements while enhancing its own content moderation systems.
