Cleaning up trash on Tiktok requires a big broom

TikTok is currently one of the most powerful and widely used social networks today. Surpassing Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, TikTok impresses users with its easy-to-watch, engaging video interface and continuous content platform. However, TikTok is facing the problem of censoring harmful content, when on its platform there is too much bad and toxic content, from superstition, gambling to prostitution... A representative of the Ministry of Information and Communications said that in the near future, the Ministry will conduct a comprehensive inspection of TikTok in Vietnam.

From obscene content to superstition

It is not difficult to come across a video with obscene content appearing on TikTok. Most of these videos are by female creators, talking about vulgar issues that make viewers blush, such as how to have sex, positions. It is worth noting that these videos appear with great frequency, and if you have watched a few videos, TikTok's algorithm will suggest many channels and videos with similar content. According to some content creators on TikTok, videos with this type of content are appearing more and more because the platform requires creators to post videos continuously to attract users.

Explicit sex videos are still rampant on the TikTok platform. Videos with shocking captions like “how to make him happy”, “where to thrust each other to get the most pleasure” are still rampant on social networks whose users are mostly still in their growing years. Moreover, users can also watch these videos without logging into the application. This increases the risk of children viewing content that is beyond their age, when there is no login information to control age.

Not only videos with obscene content, TikTok is also an ideal place for fortune tellers and mediums to propagate and attract customers. These videos appear as much as obscene content, and some videos have even become famous and become "hot trends" on social networks. The most recent example is the case of "rightly admitting wrongly arguing" of a TikTok account named Truong Huong. After appearing, it became a "hot trend" and was widely shared. After that, TikTok Truong Huong was administratively punished for the act of "Providing and sharing information promoting bad customs, superstitions, obscenities, depravity, and not in accordance with the traditions and customs of the nation".

TikTok is also the “home” platform for many reviewers, who specialize in using video recording and review services to share with others. This profession has existed for a long time and reviewers have also worked on many other platforms. However, the rapid development, easy-to-use editing tools and high virality of TikTok have attracted many young people to step into this path. Just create a TikTok account, record videos and edit them, and users can become a reviewer. In fact, there are many cases of reviewers extorting or pressuring restaurant owners for profit.

Worse, some TikTok accounts even curse at employees and throw food to film clips to attract likes and views. Many accounts freely share about gambling on TikTok. Advertising videos for card games and online dice are also everywhere on this platform. Channel owners not only review the games but also give detailed instructions for viewers to participate.

Paradise of counterfeit goods

Currently, TikTok is becoming a platform that attracts a lot of attention from small businesses because of a series of preferential policies on additional fees such as commissions and platforms. At the time of its launch, TikTok Shop only applied a fee to sellers at a rate of 1% on the total order value; then, in October 2022, this fee was raised to 2.5% (including tax), still much lower than the 8-14% fee of other e-commerce platforms. Thus, doing business on TikTok Shop can help sellers save 2-3% of the cost.

With these advantages, according to the report of the E-commerce Data Platform for Businesses, Brands and Sellers (Metric), by the end of 2022, TikTok's revenue will be equivalent to 80% of Lazada's revenue, 4 times that of Tiki. TikTok is a "fertile land" for retailers or businesses advertising products.

From the moment of launch, TikTok Shop declared a strict ban on counterfeit goods, requiring all products sold on the platform to be genuine and protecting owners from copyright and trademark infringement. To sell branded products, shop owners need to provide proof of brand authorization to TikTok. Each product itself must undergo strict censorship before being created and posted by the seller. If there is a violation, depending on the level and frequency, TikTok will take measures to warn, enforce, punish or report to the authorities for handling. However, in reality, through many simple tricks, sellers still find ways to let fake, counterfeit, and poor quality products "bypass" the platform.

According to some sellers' sharing about the "tricks" when selling counterfeit branded goods, to "circumvent the law" on TikTok Shop, sellers just need to cover all identifying logos on the product or packaging. In addition, when setting up product descriptions, sellers are not allowed to include brand names but only use general words to distinguish items such as: clothes, bags, cosmetics.

In addition, unlike other online shopping platforms, the reviews of previous buyers on TikTok Shop are also quite limited, making it difficult for buyers to access authentic "reviews" to distinguish between genuine stores or products of unknown origin, origin, invoices, documents, goods that infringe intellectual property rights, counterfeit famous brands, poor quality, restricted goods, conditional business goods, expired goods, etc.

Even if their products are not approved on TikTok Shop, sellers can still use the platform to post videos advertising counterfeit and fake goods and "lead" buyers through other "channels" such as social networks, e-commerce platforms, etc.

According to Tran Huu Linh, Director General of the General Department of Market Management, the change in payment fee policy has helped the number of new stores registered on the platform as well as TikTok's revenue increase day by day. However, the downside of the above situation is that TikTok is gradually becoming a new gathering place for counterfeit and infringing goods.

“Although TikTok Shop strictly prohibits low-quality products, traders can easily “evade” the platform’s management policies. Therefore, if management is loosened and supervision of sellers and products is not increased, TikTok will become a gathering place for many low-quality goods, seriously affecting consumers,” Mr. Linh shared.

According to Mr. Linh, besides the growth momentum and positive aspects, e-commerce in general and TikTok in particular also have to face many consequences when the situation of counterfeit goods trading and commercial fraud is still complicated; the emergence of many new business models and methods in many different regions and industries is posing significant challenges in terms of adaptability of the legal corridor.

According to statistics, in 2022, the General Department of Market Management removed 1,663 stalls with 6,437 violating products; blocked 5 websites with signs of taking advantage of e-commerce to trade in counterfeit goods, fake goods and goods of unknown origin. The total fine for violations in e-commerce is 222 million VND.

Need to tighten management of Tiktok soon

A representative of the Ministry of Information and Communications said that in May, a comprehensive inspection of TikTok Vietnam's operations will be conducted in the context of this social network appearing with many bad, toxic, and offensive contents.

According to Mr. Le Quang Tu Do - Director of the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information, the inspection is expected to start in May with many contents. Compared to social networking platforms such as Facebook and YouTube, TikTok started later but has had explosive growth in Vietnam in the past 3 years. DataReportal data shows that as of February, there were about 49.9 million TikTok social network users in Vietnam, ranking 6th out of 10 countries with the most TikTok users. This is also one of the 4 most popular social networking platforms in Vietnam today, along with Facebook, YouTube and Zalo.

In addition to healthy, fun shared content, recently this social network has seen more and more toxic, offensive content, false information, and superstition. In particular, the algorithm developed by TikTok allows toxic content to appear continuously to viewers. According to Mr. Le Quang Tu Do, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube are all cross-border social networking platforms. They have community standards that apply globally, but when entering Vietnam, these platforms must comply with Vietnamese law. That law includes not only content management but also tax, payment, and advertising obligations. A representative of the Ministry of Information and Communications said that during the inspection process, if violations are detected, strict handling will be carried out.

Khanh An

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