- The TikTok application would be used by some traffickers to sell drugs and not to be reported by the platform, they do so through emoticons such as snowflake or nose.
- This is how the TikTok algorithm works: an internal document is filtered with the greatest secret of the platform.
Although the application prohibits the search for cocaine or any other -related term, a Business Insider investigation has found some accounts dedicated to its sale that use nose or snowflake emojis to promote the merchandise.
These accounts are quite easy to find on the platform and are mostly British users. Thanks to the use of these emoticons, there is no direct reference to the end of cocaine and, therefore, TikTok does not report the content.
In some of these videos you can see such as the symbol of snow, something that makes a lot of sense, since the term ‘Snow’ in English is a type of jargon used to refer to cocaine.
Although TikTok did not restrict them at first, as soon as Bussiness Insider filed a complaint against these accounts, TikTok eliminated these users in just one day. Unfortunately, the next day, they reappeared with another username.
The spokesperson of the platform has explained that “the security and well-being of their community is an absolute priority” and that they are “taking action against accounts that violate community guidelines.”
In addition, he added that with this type of measure they make clear his position of “not allowing the representation, promotion or trade of drugs and other controlled substances” and that in this sense, TikTok will continue to “invest on a large scale in providing confidence and security.”
Some experts in drug trafficking through social networks have explained that “it is not enough to block the content,” said UCSD associate professor Tim Mackey, who runs a machine learning company that analyzes networks in search of this type of criminal activity.
Mackey’s company has an alliance with that monitors drug trafficking and ensures that “you have to be proactive when doing internal searches” and that the best way to do this is to “build very specific custom algorithms for the sale of drugs.”
In the case of TikTok, they block some obvious terms such as , since if we look for it, it will appear that no results have been found. However, if we do the search through emojis such as snowflake or a plug, it is easy to find this content in English.
Hallucinogenic mushrooms are one of the most visible products in the app and according to Mackey they tend to see “much more activity with mushrooms and LSD than with other traditional opioids such as Percocet or Xanax.” This explains why the TikTok audience is younger and that the sale, therefore, is done on a small scale.
Some terms such as ‘psychedelic mushrooms’, ‘psychedelic travel’ or ‘candy’ would now be blocked by the app. In the case of vendors, on many occasions they publish videos of alleged orchards or how they prepare drugs for delivery and thus give credibility to the user.
In addition, they often resort to mixing prohibited and allowed hashtags, so that users are directed to content that is related to the drug. In Mackey’s words, it is “a kind of road formed with breadcrumbs that leads to the place that interests sellers.”
Despite putting in place some measures to avoid these practices, the truth is that as long as social networks continue to exist, traffickers will continue to try to sell their merchandise through these applications.