TikTok implementing features to ‘promote kindness', will tell users to 'reconsider posting' mean comments

Popular short-video platform TikTok has unveiled a series of new features it says have been designed to encourage positivity on the platform and crack down on abusive comments.

The company announced in a blog post on Wednesday that it would be implementing more comment controls on the app, which is hugely popular with teens, as well as a feature that would ask users to "reconsider" if they are about to post a negative comment.

Claiming its goal is to "encourage" users to treat others with respect and "promote kindness," TikTok said the new feature will ask people "to reconsider posting a comment that may be inappropriate or unkind" and allow them the opportunity to edit their comment before making it public.

In an example given by the company, a user posting "You are ugly" on someone else's video is asked by TikTok in a popup box, "Would you like to reconsider posting this?”

The person is warned that the comment “contains words that may violate” the community guidelines. The user can choose to post the comment anyway or go back to edit it. It's also giving users the option to "filter all comments" allowing users to pick and choose which comments will be displayed.

The company said it would partner with the Cyberbullying Research Center to research online bullying and how to combat it.

The platform, a favorite among teens, has faced a number of controversies in recent years, and most recently reached a deal with Italian authorities to block young users after a 10-year-old girl died while taking part in a TikTok "choking" challenge.

Former president Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok in the United States as part of his trade war on China, claiming that the Chinese-owned app was a national security risk.

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