TikTok’s policy change hurt cryptocurrency creators

If Lucas Dimos pulls out another video from TikTok, he suspects he will be kicked off the platform forever.

In the last month, at least ten of his videos have been removed to promote illegal activities and regulated products. But Dimos, who posts content on a TikTok account called theblockchainboy, says he hasn’t done anything wrong.

“It has left my account so sharp,” Dimos said. “We’re getting extinct here. We’re saving ourselves. We’ve tried to build a community and guide this whole movement in the right direction.”

TikTok cryptocurrency content creators like Dimos, who claim to only try to educate consumers about the emerging market, say they have been hard hit by the rapid changes in the social media company. In July, TikTok implemented a system that can automatically block videos that violate its policies, and the company recently updated its branded content policy, banning the promotion of financial services, including cryptocurrencies, unless users disclose it. using a branded content option in the app.

CNBC spoke with 11 cryptocurrency creators for this story who said they have released cryptographic educational videos, even though their content is permanently marked or deleted with few explanations from TikTok. Some said their accounts were also temporarily banned more often. Most of the influencers CNBC spoke to said they haven’t paid to promote any cryptographic content on TikTok in recent weeks and that video views and new followers have declined since July.

TikTok declined to comment on the creators’ reports. Instead, a spokesman pointed CNBC to the company’s community guidelines page. The spokesman would not specify which guidelines infringed cryptography creators.

When videos are extracted from TikTok, creators say they receive a notification that violates community guidelines. It is sometimes noted that they post content related to “illegal activities and regulated property.” The guidelines have not been updated since December, although TikTok launched its new detection feature just over a month ago, when creators say deletions increased.

Some of the creators CNBC spoke to are considering switching to platforms like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook Instagram and the Google-owned Chat app Discord, where they say they have more freedom to share content.

“The real problem isn’t the ads,” said an influencer of cryptocurrencies who says Wendy O.

According to the creators of CNBC, recent updates are guaranteed to crack down on spam accounts or fraudulent money-making schemes, such as “carpet pulls,” where individuals lure users to buy encryption, raise the price, and withdraw- the bear. But they say the system overcompensates and affects those who only try to educate their audience about cryptography.

“It was almost like a reaction from TikTok against all these scams that were going on,” said Dimos, who has more than 314,000 followers on the platform. “While scamming may have been blocked, not all creators can post any content.”

In recent weeks, creators say they can’t use words like “Binance,” “decentralized finance,” or specific currencies like bitcoin or ethereum in a video without it being deleted. The consensus among the creators is that these words alert the algorithm and lead to an automatic withdrawal or revision. Graph analysis and prediction also mark the system, according to creators like Timothy, who does cryptoweatherman at TikTok.

According to community guidelines, TikTok says it will delete content “including video, audio, live playback, images, comments, and text,” and that it uses a combination of technology and human moderation. “to apply your guidelines before the content is uniformly reported.

If a video is removed, the user is usually notified that the post violates community guidelines or is associated with “illegal activities and regulated assets.” But the message offers no details, the creators said. The creators CNBC spoke to said that if they receive two videos, they are prohibited from posting content for at least 24 hours. Bans can last from a day to a week, said the creators with whom CNBC spoke.

TikTok guidelines state that users are notified when content is removed and that they can appeal the removal if they “believe no violation has occurred.” The company also says it will suspend or ban accounts that are repeatedly “involved in serious or repeated violations” and that take into account “information available on other platforms and offline in these decisions.”

When creators contact TikTok about account banning or video withdrawal, most claim that they have been ignored or have received an automatic response. There is still no phone number to call or any representative via email, some creators say when they appeal the withdrawal TikTok resets many videos.

Joshua Thillens, who goes by Joshua Jake at TikTok, says he has received at least eight videos. When CNBC spoke with Mason Versluis, a creator with about 430,000 followers on an account called cryptomasun, he had a 48-hour ban, which prevented him from publishing.

Prior to the change in guidelines, a video showing a car accident was removed in Versluis. In recent weeks, he said between 30 and 35 of his videos have been removed. Most were reinstated after filing an appeal.

“I don’t pretend to be a financial assistant, or a financial advisor, or even a trader,” Versluis said. “I’m just someone who has been in cryptography for four years. I’ve studied this thoroughly and the information I provide and opinions should speak for themselves.”

Many creators also claim that views and followers have slowed down in recent weeks, and followers say creators don’t appear on their “For You” pages. TikTok community guidelines state that the company may limit the visibility of a post to search results and other feeds.

Mack Lorden, who has more than 102,000 followers on TikTok, says he quickly built his followers when he launched his platform in January. But it “reached a bottleneck” last month, a change it attributes to both the change in pattern and falling prices in the crypto market.

Smaller creators like Miguel Morales, who has just over 5,200 followers on his account, called blockchaincrusader, also feel the skin. Morales says good video views have dropped from nearly 100,000 to 10,000. On a good day, you are lucky enough to get over 1,000 plays.

Nick Dye, who has more than 14,400 followers on his account called the_cryptokeeper, says he got 300 to 400 followers a day constantly during the first few months of launching his account and then posting a viral video. He said the new followers went from hundreds to maybe three or six a day after the policy change. He says he gained his first 12,000 followers in just 25 days. The last couple of thousands has taken twice as long.

“No one knows what he can or what he can say,” Dye said. “It discourages newer creators like me from having the knowledge and experience they can offer. We are afraid to share things for fear of being banned.”

During the weeks following the changes, the creators say they are creative with the content they post. Wendy O. has recently released a series of videos that refer to cryptocurrencies as ketos. Dye calls ethereum his “girlfriend.” Carla Nasui and Walker Van Dixhorn, known as The Crypto Couple, have always used comedy to talk about cryptography, a setting they say has prevented them from being banned. Morales has reduced from making three videos a day to just two.

Some creators CNBC spoke to have made sponsored content in the past and say they can make between $ 300 and $ 20,000, depending on their followers. This payment is occasionally made in cryptocurrencies.

Versluis has partnered with DAO Maker, a crowdfunding platform that also serves as a launcher for some cryptocurrencies and IOI, one of the cryptocurrencies launched through it. Wendy O. created content for a cryptocurrency platform called Celsius.

Some also make money through paid Discord subscriptions and individual investment sessions. But all CNBC creators interviewed said they do most of their content for fun or to educate the masses and never explicitly tell users to buy a coin.

Admits Angel Talamantes, who goes through begincrypto and has more than 41,100 followers some influencers “abused” sponsored publications and promoted projects without doing their pre-change research.

“A lot of influencers who have a great following don’t really know what they’re promoting,” he said. “They hear the tone of the cryptocurrency and it sounds good.”

Morales and the rest of the creators are happy to follow the rules, but say the company needs to clarify the guidelines. This includes a clear definition of what is considered the promotion of cryptocurrencies and what qualifies their content as illegal activity and regulated assets. They also want a direct TikTok representative who can answer questions and concerns.

Amidst the uncertainty, some creators are preparing to dedicate their time to other platforms. Lorden says he is creating his YouTube and Discord accounts.

Thillens recently launched an account called CryptoKnight with Versluis, Timothy and Dimos running through Discord. They plan to organize public events and launch a website so that “they can’t be leaked.” But he admits that going viral overnight on TikTok outweighs the commitment on other platforms.

“There’s nothing like it,” he said.