French regulator flags TikTok's failure to limit 'Skinnytok' harmful content
France's audiovisual regulator Arcom found that TikTok's recommendation algorithm failed to adequately suppress the 'Skinnytok' trend, which promoted extreme thinness and restrictive eating practices to young users between March and April 2025. The regulator reported the findings to the European Commission, citing risks to minors on the platform.
What happened
The French audiovisual regulator Arcom detected a viral trend called 'Skinnytok' on TikTok between March 24 and April 24, 2025, which promoted extreme thinness to young users. The trend generated 5,522 publications by over 3,000 content creators, mostly in English, accumulating nearly 100 million views and 9.5 million likes.
The publications featured restrictive eating habits, extremely thin body types, and body comparisons under the guise of healthy lifestyle promotion. Arcom reported that TikTok blocked the initial keyword but did not sufficiently limit circumventions of this blocking.
Reported impact
Arcom concluded that the phenomenon represented a public health risk, particularly for minors, who comprise 16% of TikTok users and spend an average of more than 28 hours per month on the platform. The trend promoted extremely restrictive practices such as 'not eating' and 'doing more sport' to achieve the thinnest possible body.
Index analysis
Arcom transmitted its investigation findings to the European Commission on December 4, 2025, citing TikTok's inadequate content moderation as a concern under the Digital Services Act and related European regulations.
Governance controls
TikTok responded by blocking the 'Skinnytok' keyword, but Arcom found this insufficient to prevent the trend from continuing through alternative hashtags and circumventions.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.