TikTok to ban ads that amplify body shaming

TikTok will ban ads that promote fasting apps and weight loss supplements, as part of its policy to restrict ads of products that amplify body shaming, the company said on Wednesday.

The short-video app said it will also place curbs on ads with exaggerated claims in diet and weightloss products.

TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance and at the center of a political battle between Washington and Beijing, has been racing to avoid a crackdown on its US operations.

The Trump administration had expressed concerns that personal data of as many as 100 million Americans that use the app is being passed on to China's Communist Party government.

TikTok recently launched a marketing program on September 3 to attract more advertisers with tools to measure the success of ad campaigns that run on its popular short video app.

The program will allow brands and marketers to run ad campaigns on its app, that at present has about 20 certified partners including digital marketing platform MakeMeReach and data analytics company Kantar, TikTok said in a blog.

TikTok’s advertising business is still nascent, but the company owned by China’s ByteDance has become a popular place for brands that aim to reach the app’s young audience, who flock to it for lip-syncing, dancing and comedy sketch videos.