TikTok accused of unfairly deleting content by trans creators
Adea Danielle and Tay Scheider say their accounts were removed for posting transgender content
Transgender creators are accusing TikTok of unfairly deleting their content and targeting them for producing trans-affirming content.
Adea Danielle and Tay Scheider both told BuzzFeed News that they repeatedly have videos deleted by the social network, often for violating TikTok’s guidelines.
Danielle, who currently has 1.5 million followers on the platform, said that videos specifically about transgender topics can trigger the ban, while Scheider, who has 1.7 million followers, said that even videos about makeup where she’s “just smiling” are subject to TikTok’s wrath.
“I do comedy videos and I bring trans subjects in the videos to educate people,” Danielle told BuzzFeed. “That’s my main goal on social media — to educate people about trans issues.”
Scheider said that her videos “always get deleted for weird reasons like sexual content, nudity, adult language, profanity — but I’m not really doing anything.”
Both women said that usually they can appeal the bans and have their content reinstated.
However, Danielle and Scheider have both also had TikTok disable their entire accounts, with Danielle saying she opened the app to find her account “gone,” adding, “I didn’t get any warning.”
While Scheider was able to have her account unlocked after contacting TikTok, it wasn’t until BuzzFeed questioned TikTok that Danielle’s account was reinstated.
“I don’t know how it works,” Danielle said, “but I do know that [TikTok is] not made for us; it’s made for white, straight, cis people to do dances and stuff.”
In a statement to BuzzFeed News, TikTok said that it doesn’t target transgender content or creators, adding that it “does not remove content or accounts on the basis of gender identity, and we take great care to foster a safe and supportive environment where our community can express themselves authentically and creatively.”
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