Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
TikTok is putting new restrictions on weight loss ads as the app increasingly comes under criticism for promoting dangerous diets. The new policy bans ads for fasting apps and weight loss supplements. It also puts increased restrictions on other weight loss-related ads, like limiting ads for “weight management products” to users over 18 years old and not allowing those ads to “promote a negative body image or negative relationship with food.”
Some of the new restrictions are vague, but they’re broadly designed to limit TikTok users’ — especially teenagers’ — exposure to potentially harmful imagery and language. “These types of ads do not support the positive, inclusive, and safe experience we strive for on TikTok,” Tara Wadhwa, TikTok’s…