Digital Minister Clara Chappaz has contacted the media regulator and the European Commission regarding the "Skinnytok" trend, which promotes extreme thinness on the social network TikTok, she announced on Friday.
"Skinnytok, a trend that promotes extreme thinness on social media. Unacceptable. I have contacted Arcom and the European Commission," the minister wrote in a message posted on LinkedIn.
"I have made the protection of minors online one of my priorities," she added in a video posted on the same social network, assuring that she would not "let the platforms shirk their responsibilities."
Arcom told AFP that it had "already addressed the issue given the public health risk this phenomenon may pose." The authority also said it wanted to "gather evidence to characterize this risk in France" and "understand the measures TikTok is implementing to address it."
Contacted by AFP, TikTok assured that it had "implemented strict rules against body shaming and dangerous behaviors related to weight loss."
"To protect teens, we limit access to content that depicts harmful body image ideals," the app insisted.
On this network, the keyword "skinny" was associated with more than 500,000 publications on Friday at midday.
These videos, mainly portrayed by young women, contain advice on how to lose weight.
The platform has implemented a prevention message, displayed as a banner above posts, which leads users to a page of resources related to eating disorders.
In early March, French MPs approved the creation of a commission of inquiry into the psychological effects of TikTok on children and adolescents, the social network being particularly popular among young people.
Arcom President Martin Ajdari will be questioned by this commission on May 20.
On the social network Instagram, owned by the Meta group, searching for the keyword "skinny" leads directly to a help page, which can be bypassed to access the publications.
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