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Last updated on: November 11, 2022
TikTok has quickly become the go-to app for Generation Z. With over 800 million downloads from Google Play and the Apple App Store and over 600 million monthly active users in China alone, this user-generated short-form mobile video app is said to be worth $75 billion.
TikTok’s meteoric rise prompts an urgent inquiry for brand owners: how can our business leverage this platform’s popularity while at the same time minimizing the risks associated with social media impersonation?
In this blog we will cover:
In its rules for users, TikTok has stringent rules about impersonation and fraudulent accounts. If a user is found to be in violation of these terms, their account may be temporarily or permanently disabled.
These are the primary anti-scam, anti-impersonation, and anti-IP policies:
1. Frauds and scams: TikTok does not tolerate any behavior that might potentially cause physical or financial harm to its users. It is possible to delete content that intentionally misleads users for financial or personal gain.
Neither you nor anyone else may upload, publish, or otherwise disseminate materials that advocate for or depict:
2. Impersonation: Tiktok prohibits accounts from pretending to be someone else by copying their name and profile picture. It is possible to permanently delete or suspend a user’s account when an impersonation report has been validated.
However, TikTok permits commentary, parody, or fan accounts, so long as the user makes it abundantly clear in their bio that they are not officially connected to or endorsed by the account’s main subject.
3. Theft of intellectual property or other violations: TikTok respects user copyrights and trademarks. When TikTok becomes aware of content that violates the intellectual property rights of a third party, it will immediately delete it.
It’s worth noting, however, that under the fair use policy, users are free to discuss, criticize, parody, and review copyrighted works on TikTok.
Because TikTok does not automatically delete fake accounts, you must take action when you encounter one.
TikTok has made some efforts to improve content control, including IP rights protection, but it is evident that there is still a lot of work to be done to detect infringements on the platform. This suggests that TikTok is open to enhancing its current measures for protecting brands. At the present time, brand owners can take several different actions.
One of the greatest ways to prevent infringement on your work is to keep up a visible, official presence on the platform in question. Growing a dedicated following and keeping them interested and engaged may discourage copycats and other brand abusers. TikTok is actively courting large brand owners and has included a verification mark for official accounts. With the introduction of seamless e-commerce, consumers may be enticed directly into the bottom of a brand’s sales funnel solely as a result of compelling content.
If a brand or campaign aims to ensure your account or content is being seen by wide audiences, thought leaders and strategic influencers may have a greater impact than organic posts from your corporate account. Having a corporate account is important, but utilizing influencer marketing can put your product or brand directly in view of a strategic audience you may not be able to reach organically. However, strategic use of influencers is important because it can be expensive and the results may vary depending on how relevant your product or brand is to that influencer’s base of followers.
One common error rights holders and service providers make is focusing on only one app version to track and analyze, but there are actually two versions TikTok, which is the global app name, and Douyin, which is the name of the app in China. TikTok and Douyin have distinct user bases and content. Therefore, it’s important to consider both platforms when searching for business impersonations.
Needless to say, if you come across any fake products on TikTok, you should report them so they may be removed. ByteDance uses human and AI-automated moderators to keep trademarked keywords free of IP infringements. In order to teach the AI to recognize and remove infringing content, or at least flag it to a human moderator, the AI needs as much data as it can get, which means you must be as detailed as possible when you file reports. To combat online counterfeiting, it is always recommended to establish a solid connection with the platform in question, which a legitimate business presence may help with.
You should have a brand protection action plan before any large online sales periods you know about. Brand owners should step up enforcement efforts in the days leading up to significant sales days like Black Friday or Singles Day. To avoid losing revenue, it is crucial that personnel be on hand to address urgent problems in real time on the busiest sales days.
For example, if the infringement is directing clients to a Taobao store, screenshots of the infringing Taobao listings should be recorded, and takedown notifications should be issued to Taobao Promptly. The most crucial part of the process is limiting access to the sales channel.
Red Points offers software that provides an automatic defense against brand impersonation. Using the Impersonation Removal Solution offered by Red Points, you could automate takedown requests for an infinite number of fake accounts, applications, or websites. While the software can allow you to automate this process, it’s important to note that the timeline for fake accounts or impersonators to be taken down is actually still dependent on TikTok’s validation process.
To defend your brand against imposter social media accounts, standalone websites, or lookalike applications, use the most cutting-edge impersonation protection technology available and combine it with assistance from professionals of the highest caliber.Â
Protecting the identity of your company is more vital than it has ever been due to the widespread use of social media platforms and the rise in the number of cybercrimes.
However, in order to locate fake accounts on TikTok, you do not have to manually search the entirety of the platform; rather, you can make use of a brand protection and revenue recovery tool such as Red Points to help you in navigating the process.
Stop fake profiles and counterfeits on social media platforms with technology.
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