French officials are concerned about the TikTok trend of promoting anorexia under #SkinnyTok, as it shapes harmful perceptions of the body in children and young people. This is reported by The Guardian, reports UNN.
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The French authorities believe that such content poses a real threat to the mental and physical health of adolescents. Especially alarming is the ability of social media algorithms to target such videos specifically at a vulnerable audience – those who already have certain difficulties with self-perception and eating behavior.
The relevant services of France, in particular the supervisory body Arcom, have already started collecting information about the scale of this phenomenon. The issue has reached the level of the European Union, as the norms of the Digital Services Act are violated, which obliges Internet platforms to take care of the safety of minors.
Medical workers who face the consequences of such trends every day are sounding the alarm. According to them, the number of requests with symptoms of eating disorders is increasing.
In France, it is estimated that about 40,000 people suffer from anorexia, and the vast majority of them are teenagers.
Although TikTok claims to be taking measures to remove harmful content and implement warnings, experts consider these steps insufficient. The French government emphasizes that tech giants must not only react, but also actively participate in prevention, because it is about the safety of children.
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Last year in Zurich, a 12-year-old child was seriously injured in a crush when TikToker Oracle dropped 24,000 Swiss francs from a drone in a park.