TikTok deleted over 100 million videos in 2020 first half

TikTok is removing more than half a million videos a day on average, based on a transparency report from the first half of 2020.

The ByteDance-owned platform said it deleted 104 million clips between January and June this year.

TikTok’s first transparency report of the year suggests the company received almost 1,800 legal requests for user information from 42 countries/ markets, and over 10,000 copyright take-down notices.

TikTok’s director of public policy in Australia and New Zealand Brent Thomas, and head of trust & safety APAC Arjun Narayan Bettadapur Manjunath, said the removal of videos was about the safety of users.

“Hundreds of millions of people around the world come to TikTok for entertainment, self-expression, and connection. We have no higher priority than promoting a safe app experience that fosters joy and belonging among our growing global community,” the report said.

The transparency report revealed that videos which were deleted over the first half made up less than 1% of content on TikTok, and that 90% were removed before anyone had a chance to view them.

The social media giant said it was holding itself accountable.

“We know how vital it is to build trust by being transparent with our community. It’s why we regularly release these reports to hold ourselves accountable to our community and provide insight into the actions we take to help keep TikTok safe for everyone,” the report said.

The report follows new data released by MRC and Nielsen which found almost half of TikTok’s Gen Z audience watch music videos on the platform.

It’s not clear the extent to which the removed videos contained music, if at all.

TikTok did reveal that a third of the removed clips contained nudity, while 22.3% involved ‘minor safety’, 19.6% included ‘illegal activities’ and 13.4% referenced ‘suicides, self harm and other dangerous acts’.

The transparency report covered some policy changes including new guidelines on misleading content and disinformation on TikTok.

“We introduced fact-checking programs in nine markets, including the US, Canada, UK, Australia, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, India to help us verify misleading content about the novel coronavirus, elections, and more,” TikTok said.

“We are working to bring this program to additional markets.”

TikTok is still facing a potential ban from the US app store, unless owner ByteDance can set up a deal to satisfy President Donald Trump, which would see the company’s consumer data move to US-controlled infrastructure as part of a JV called TikTok Global, to be run by Oracle and Walmart.