TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 1 billion monthly active users. With such a massive userbase, TikTok aims to maintain a safe and positive environment through its community guidelines and content moderation policies. However, many users suddenly find their accounts suspended with no explanation. Getting suspended can be frustrating, especially if you weren’t aware you violated any rules. There are several common reasons TikTok may suspend accounts, ranging from breaking community guidelines, having underage users, showing spam/bot behavior, hacked accounts, banned hashtags/songs, copyright violations, region restrictions, and even false positives in their detection systems. Understanding the main causes of suspended accounts can help users prevent issues or properly appeal wrongful suspensions.
Violating Community Guidelines
TikTok has a set of Community Guidelines that all users must follow. These guidelines cover topics like minor safety, illegal activities, violent and graphic content, hateful behavior, adult nudity and sexual activities, and more.
Some of the key things that can lead to an account suspension include:
- Posting content that depicts or promotes dangerous acts that may lead to injury or death.
- Sharing misinformation meant to deceive or mislead others.
- Posting violent and graphic content, like gruesome violence, animal abuse, or cruelty.
- Promoting hateful ideologies against protected groups.
- Spamming advertisements or links irrelevant to your video content.
According to TikTok’s guidelines, if they identify severe or repeated violations, they may permanently ban an account. Minor violations may lead to video removal or temporary suspensions.
So it’s important for all users to carefully review TikTok’s Community Guidelines and avoid posting any rule-breaking content. Violating the guidelines can quickly lead to suspensions, especially if TikTok deems the violations to be egregious.
Underage Users
TikTok requires users to be at least 13 years old to create an account. If TikTok detects what appears to be an underage user, they will suspend the account. This is done to comply with COPPA regulations that aim to protect children’s privacy online.
TikTok states they use both automatic systems and human moderators to identify accounts that seem to belong to underage users. Some of the signals they look for include user reports, account information, and the content posted. If your account gets banned for being underage, you will see a message stating “Your account has been permanently banned due to violation of our Terms of Service.”
If you believe your account was incorrectly suspended, you can submit an appeal to TikTok through the app. You will need to verify your age by providing a government ID or your parent’s details. TikTok does state that accounts for children under 13 will not be reactivated due to legal reasons.
Spam/Bot Behavior
One of the most common reasons accounts get suspended on TikTok is due to spammy activity or bots. TikTok has strict policies against spam and automated behavior in order to protect the user experience. Accounts that engage in suspicious activities like mass following/unfollowing, repeatedly liking content, commenting spammy or repetitive messages, or using bots can trigger TikTok’s automatic detection systems.
Often users are unaware their account has been compromised and is now being controlled by a spam bot. This leads to confusion when their account gets banned for bot behavior. According to Reddit sources, receiving spammy “winner” comments or getting lots of new followers out of nowhere can be a sign your account has been compromised [1]. TikTok experts recommend blocking suspicious accounts when you see them to avoid getting caught up in spam rings that could risk suspension [2].
If you suspect your account has been hacked and is exhibiting bot behavior, immediately change your password and enable two-factor authentication. Also report the issue to TikTok to investigate. Appealing the suspension and explaining it was a compromised account may allow them to reinstate you.
Hacked Accounts
Sometimes a TikTok account may get suspended because it was hacked and used for suspicious activity without the owner’s knowledge. According to the TikTok Help Center article My account has been hacked, hackers can gain access to accounts through phishing, malware, or weak passwords. Once in control, they may use the account to spam others, spread inappropriate content, or violate TikTok’s guidelines.
If you suspect your account was hacked and then suspended, first try to regain access by resetting your password and enabling two-factor authentication. Then submit an appeal to TikTok explaining your account was compromised. Provide details on when you lost access and any evidence that it was hacked. TikTok may reinstate your account after confirming it was hijacked and you are the rightful owner.
To avoid hacks in the future, use a strong unique password, enable two-factor authentication, watch for suspicious login activity, and don’t click suspicious links that could install malware. With proper security precautions, you can help prevent your account from being compromised and suspended.
Banned Hashtags/Songs
TikTok maintains a list of banned hashtags and songs that are not allowed on the platform due to offensive, dangerous, or inappropriate content. Using these banned hashtags or songs in your videos can lead to your account being suspended.
According to TikTok’s Community Guidelines, accounts may be suspended for using hashtags or songs that promote criminal organizations, illegal activities, or dangerous behavior. Other banned content includes hate speech, violence/gore, adult/sexual activities, and dangerous acts.
If you repeatedly use prohibited hashtags or songs in your videos, TikTok may suspend your account without warning. To avoid this, be sure to check that any hashtags or songs comply with TikTok’s rules before posting. The platform routinely updates its list of banned content, so a hashtag or song that was previously allowed may later be prohibited.
If your account is suspended for using a banned hashtag or song, you can appeal the suspension through TikTok’s appeal process. However, take care to avoid prohibited content in the future to prevent further account restrictions.
Violating Copyright
TikTok has strict policies around copyright and will suspend or ban accounts that repeatedly violate copyright. According to TikTok’s Intellectual Property Policy, if you share content on TikTok that you don’t have the rights to, such as songs or videos created by someone else, your account may be suspended or terminated. The number of copyright violations that lead to suspension varies, but multiple violations in a short period can result in a suspended account.
Some common copyright violations that get accounts suspended include using copyrighted music without permission in videos, reposting videos created by someone else without credit, and live streaming copyrighted content like movies or TV shows. TikTok uses digital fingerprinting technology to detect copyrighted material, so even small snippets of copyrighted content may be flagged.
To avoid copyright violations, only use original content you created yourself, properly credit any content reposted from elsewhere, and do not use copyrighted songs in videos without obtaining the proper licenses. The penalties for copyright infringement are severe, so it’s important to respect intellectual property rights on TikTok if you want to maintain an active account.
Banned Regions
TikTok occasionally gets banned or blocked in certain countries and regions for various reasons. This can result in accounts registered in those areas getting suspended. For example, TikTok was banned in India in 2020 over national security concerns, leading to accounts from India being suspended.
More recently, TikTok was banned in Afghanistan in 2022 by the Taliban government due to content concerns. Accounts registered in Afghanistan were subsequently suspended by TikTok.
If your region bans TikTok, your account will likely get suspended automatically. The suspension notice may cite community guideline violations, but the root cause is the regional ban. Unfortunately, there are limited options to recover or unlock accounts suspended due to regional restrictions.
False Positives
Sometimes TikTok’s automated systems may incorrectly flag legitimate content or accounts as violating community guidelines, resulting in unfair suspensions. This is known as false positives and can be frustrating for users who feel their account was suspended by mistake. According to forums and discussions, false positives do happen occasionally on TikTok (source).
Possible reasons for false positives include TikTok’s algorithms mistakenly identifying innocent behaviors as suspicious. For example, gaining a rapid increase in followers or comments may be misconstrued as artificial bot activity. Making multiple video uploads in a short period could also appear like spam to the automated systems.
False positives demonstrate that while AI moderation has advantages in scaling, human oversight is still important to catch errors. For affected users, submitting an appeal is the best recourse to recover an account suspended incorrectly.
Appealing Suspensions
If you believe your TikTok account has been wrongfully suspended, you can appeal the suspension to potentially get your account reinstated. Here are some tips for appealing a suspension:
- Open the notification email or in-app notification about your suspension and look for the “Appeal” button. This will take you to the appeal form.
- Explain in detail why you believe the suspension was a mistake. Provide any context or evidence that can show your account did not actually violate TikTok’s guidelines.
- Emphasize that you understand TikTok’s rules and do not intend to violate them. Express your desire to continue positively contributing to the TikTok community.
- If your appeal is rejected, you can continue submitting tickets and appeals persistently yet politely. TikTok support may reconsider after multiple appeals.
- As a last resort, you can attempt reaching out to TikTok support directly via email or social media to plead your case. However, keep in mind there is no guarantee they will respond.
With persistence and politeness, you may eventually convince TikTok support to reinstate your account. However, also be prepared for the possibility that the suspension may be permanent if you cannot properly demonstrate it was a mistake.1
