Thread by @latimes

Many Black TikTok users say the platform exploits their content while suppressing their voices.

Increasingly, they're moving their activity to other platforms.

@_B_Contreras_ and @MarVasMartinez report: latimes.com/business/techn…

Cosplayer Charles Conley suspects that trolls mass-reported his videos, trying to get them taken down.

Videos in which he called out racist posts would get flagged for “harassment and bullying” and removed, he said, while posts he criticized stayed up.

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At this point, Conley is ready to call it quits. “It’s so draining,” he said.

“Having an application … actively sabotaging you and not backing you up, or saying that you are the perpetrator of these transgressions or aggressions; it gets beyond tiring.”
tiktok.com/@ebonywarriors…

Conley is not the first Black TikToker to say that he feels over-scrutinized and under-protected by the platform.

Since at least summer 2020, users of color have said that TikTok handles their accounts in ways which seem unfair and racially biased. latimes.com/business/techn…

What sets Conley and the other Black TikTokers who spoke to The Times for this story apart is what they plan to do about it: get off TikTok for good. latimes.com/business/techn…

Amid the racial justice protests that erupted in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, TikToks tagged with #BlackLivesMatter and #GeorgeFloyd seemed to be getting zero views.

The company attributed the issue to a glitch. latimes.com/business/techn…

But even months after the protests, Black creators continued to say that their videos were being taken down without explanation, listed lower than expected in search results and receiving far fewer views than usual. latimes.com/business/techn…

For each of the users the @latimes spoke with, the problem is rooted less in any singular moderation decision or technical gaffe than in a gradual accumulation of many different errors, happening over and over again.
tiktok.com/@.theamazingde…

The bottom line for TikTok is clear: Black users are thinking about leaving.

Some are ramping up their presence on Instagram and YouTube.

Others are betting alternatives such as Fanbase can be a safe-haven.
latimes.com/business/techn…

“It’s super toxic, it’s racist, and we’re never going to be able to progress with this app," said Dea, a comedian with more than 200,000 TikTok followers.

@_B_Contreras_ and @MarVasMartinez report: latimes.com/business/techn…