Digital Economy Blog – The abuses of the use of lives on the Tiktok platform: A danger for all

2023-11-13 14:30:13

On TikTok, influencers are ruining Internet users thanks to live matches”; Today we are facing a worrying shift in the use of this platform.

Tiktok is the third largest social media application used in the world today. This was launched in 2016 by ByteDance, today bringing together more than 1.7 billionactive users of all ages! The concept is simple since it involves sharing videos that can contain music, text, but also animations. But Tiktok has added a new feature to its platform which are les TikToks lives en direct.

Live matches: Another live format

These live matches allow you to win gifts quickly. These kinds of events take place every evening in la section des lives TikTok and bring together tens of thousands of people. Concretely, it is a sort of confrontation between two tiktokers, the one who is the most popular will win the match.

Presented next to each other, they challenge each other on a social subject for example, or simply ask their followers to give gifts by making jokes regarding their opponent. Spectators award points to the tiktoker of their choice, the one who wins the most points wins the prize pool at the end of the match. And thus allows him to rise in the ranking of tiktok lives and therefore win more money. A TikToker in the top 10 can hope to earn up to 15,000 euros per month.

But what are these gifts during TikTok lives?

These are simply objects, virtual animations that spectators can buy and offer to Tiktokers as a token of appreciation. Doesn’t that sound worrying to you? Yet, these gifts have a monetary value, which can then be converted into real money.

These gifts are purchasable via TikTok coins, at a rate of €11.90 for 1000 pieces. The bigger the gift, the greater the donation amount: while the Rose only costs one coin (around €0.01)the most expensive gifts like the Lion or the Universe cost several hundred euros. A Lion today is equivalent to 500 euros for a 2 second screen presence.

The real problem behind these lives: an often gullible audience

Under the guise of gaming, creators are creating a new form of entertainment that can be monetized. The most common phrase during these lives is “We share the live, we tap on the phone, go, go. » Very often, it is the lives of influencers which attract the most young people and which are therefore the most manipulated. It is not uncommon to see these influencers get angry while begging for gifts; then comes on stage emotional blackmail.

Vulnerable people will then allow themselves to be coaxed by this type of blackmail which is as follows: “The first person who gives me 50 roses or even 1 lion, I will subscribe to them and they will be entitled to free for their TikTok account. » Some young people and even adults then see it as an opportunity to make themselves known and therefore also become a TikTok user. Because an influencer who shares your TikTok account can bring you up to 1000 subscribers!

Live matches that are actually similar to gambling?

Today there is a total absence of regulation of these TikTok lives both from the government and from the TikTok platform. The main reason is that these lives are profitable for this social network, the Chinese company takes 50% of the winnings won by the tiktokers. She would therefore lose out if she were to moderate these lives and the mechanics of these gifts.

However, the NUPES deputy Arthur Delaporte, points out the lack of regulation of TikTok lives. According to him “What is happening is absolutely crazy. People get into addictive logic, with mechanics close to gambling. Behind all this, we see that the practices used by these people are similar to solicitation: they solicit potentially vulnerable people to ask them for money.

In conclusionit is therefore essential that the government reacts by firstly banning this type of content for minors, but also by adding prevention messages to these live broadcasts on the addictive risks linked to gaming.

Sources :

The little digital:

-Here is :

YouTube Sam Zirah AJA147: TikTok matches: Shenanigans, Addiction, Control, Blackmail… Ready to do anything for money?

About Émeline Cirou

Training in Master 2, Digital Economy Law at the University of Strasbourg

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