A user is said to have been subjected to a shadowban when their account on a social media site (or forum) is temporarily muted or disabled without any warning.
Unofficially, when TikTok briefly limits an account’s visibility, this action is referred to as a “shadowban,” and the term is used interchangeably with the official one. When this occurs, a user’s movies will no longer be shown on the “For You” tab of TikTok (sometimes abbreviated as #FYP). Their material will also be removed from the hashtags area of the app, where it previously was shown.
When someone is subject to a shadowban, several users have noted that it is more difficult to locate their previous contributions to the site. In addition to this, they claim that they are no longer getting likes and comments on postings that would have been successful in the past. Even if there are some wild conspiracy theories floating around the internet, there is no disputing that something is, in fact, taking place.
TikTok, much like its contemporary social media competitors, does not really use the phrase “shadowban” anywhere in any of its official material. In addition, they have never completely confessed that they are involved in the practise. They have, however, provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that they do block access to specific users at certain times.
The information provided on TikTok’s official website is probably as near as we’ll get to a declaration about shadowbans:
“Accounts and/or users who are engaged in serious or recurrent breaches [of our Community Guidelines] on the platform will be banned, either temporarily or permanently,” the Community Guidelines state.