TikTok launches new tools to combat bullying

To help tackle the issue of cyber bullying, TikTok recently introduced measures giving creators more control, and prompting users posting negative comments. (Shutterstock/File Photo)
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Updated 25 May 2021
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TikTok launches new tools to combat bullying

  • Initiative will give creators more control, discourage users from posting bullying comments

DUBAI: Despite TikTok’s growing popularity, creators on the app have complained of bullying and harassment leading to the platform launching anti-bullying measures, including a prevention guide.

Tara Wadhwa, director of policy for TikTok US, said: “Our goal is to promote a positive environment where people support and lift each other up.”

To help tackle the issue, TikTok recently introduced measures giving creators more control, and prompting users posting negative comments.

Creators can now delete multiple comments at once or report them for potentially violating community guidelines. Accounts that post bullying or other negative comments can also be blocked in bulk.

It means that creators can now select up to 100 comments or accounts rather than having to go one by one, making it easier to delete or report multiple comments or block multiple users.

Additionally, TikTok recently started allowing creators to filter all comments and pick which ones appeared on their content.

“In addition to empowering creators with more tools, we also want to encourage our community to treat everyone with kindness and respect,” added Wadhwa.

People are now prompted to reconsider posting a potentially unkind comment on a video. It also reminds users about TikTok’s guidelines and allows them to edit their comments before posting.

Efforts to combat bullying on the platform are ongoing as TikTok works on developing more tools and educating teens and families about bullying prevention.

The company has also partnered with the Cyberbullying Research Center (CRC) that develops research about cyberbullying and related forms of abuse and misuse. TikTok will work with the CRC to better understand bullying on and off the platform and collaborate on ways and initiatives to improve TikTok and experiences for creators and users.

Dr. Sameer Hinduja, co-director of the CRC, said: “The Cyberbullying Research Center is excited to work with TikTok in the months ahead on anti-bullying initiatives. TikTok’s new features are positive steps to promote kindness and we’re eager to collaborate on further ways to protect against bullying and harassment.”


Book by jailed Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti set for November release

Updated 03 February 2026
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Book by jailed Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti set for November release

  • Prison letters, photographs and other documents to feature in the book

DUBAI: A new book by jailed Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti is set for publication in November, with Penguin confirmed as the publisher, The Guardian reported.

Titled “Unbroken: In Pursuit of Freedom for Palestine,” the book brings together a selection of Barghouti’s writings, including prison letters, interviews, public statements, conversations with public figures, and other documents and photographs.

It also features excerpts from his book “1,000 Days in Solitary Confinement,” which has so far only been published in Arabic.

Fadwa Barghouti, who wrote the introduction to the book, said she hoped it would allow the world to hear her husband “in his own voice, not through the noise surrounding him.”

She said in a statement: “This book finally makes that possible — and I hope it helps people understand who Marwan Barghouti truly is, and how he embodies the Palestinian struggle for freedom and dignity.”

Barghouti, who has spent over two decades in Israeli prison, is a member of the Fatah party. He has long advocated a two-state solution and is widely regarded as a powerful and unifying voice for Palestinians, with many supporters describing him as “Palestine’s Mandela.”

His detention has prompted repeated international advocacy efforts over the years.

In December 2025, an open letter calling for his release was signed by hundreds of celebrities, including Margaret Atwood, Philip Pullman, Zadie Smith and Annie Ernaux; actors Sir Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Josh O’Connor, Mark Ruffalo and Stephen Fry; and musicians Sting, Paul Simon, Brian Eno and Annie Lennox.

In November 2025, his family and several UK-based human rights advocates ran a campaign that included demonstrations and public art installations in Palestine and London.

Barghouti has been jailed by Israel since 2004, having been handed five life sentences plus 40 years for his role during the second Palestinian uprising. He has spent significant time in solitary confinement, has been denied visits by his family for three years, and has been denied access to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

His name was on a list of prisoners to be exchanged for Israeli captives in October 2025, but Israel declined to release him.