Establishing your presence on TikTok can be tricky. Apart from competition and content planning, you also need to stay compliant with community and content guidelines to avoid getting hit with TikTok violations.
TikTok actively moderates its vast content, and that means a lot of videos get removed. In the Philippines alone, TikTok removed approximately 4.5 million videos in just three months due to community guideline violations.
If you’re a regular user, this might not seem like a big deal. But if you’re a creator or seller on TikTok Shop, having your content flagged for a violation can be extremely frustrating. It can seriously impact your visibility and performance on the platform.
But take a deep breath. Getting flagged does not have to be the end of your TikTok journey. In this guide, we will walk you through exactly how to submit an appeal when your content is taken down or your shop gets restricted.
From addressing temporary restrictions to handling a permanently banned TikTok account, here are the exact steps you need to clear misunderstandings and get back on track.
TikTok Violation Point System for Sellers in the Philippines
The TikTok platform has a set of community and content guidelines for both its sellers and creators. When a breach of these guidelines occurs, the Violation Point System takes effect.
As the name suggests, the TikTok system assigns points to your account based on the severity and frequency of policy breaches. Each violation of TikTok Shop policies can result in violation points, ranging from 1 to 48 for sellers in the Philippines, depending on the severity of the offense.
Accumulating points leads to escalating penalties, directly impacting your ability to monetize and operate on the platform.
In the Philippines, TikTok Shop violation points now expire after 90 days for sellers.
Keep in mind, however, that your TikTok account can receive a severe penalty even if it’s your first offense. In fact, some actions can result in an immediate ban of a TikTok account.
Major Offenses That Lead to TikTok Shop Account Suspension
In addition to exhausting of your Violation Point, TikTok has listed some behaviors that will instantly result in an account ban:
- You do not meet the minimum age or other requirements set in the TikTok Terms of Service.
- The account pretends to be someone else in a misleading or harmful way.
- There is a serious violation on your account, such as:
- Posting, promoting, or supporting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or any form of youth exploitation
- Threatening or promoting violence
- Posting or promoting content involving non-consensual sex acts like rape or molestation
- Sharing content that supports human trafficking
Posting content that shows real-life torture
- You create or use another account to get around a restriction or permanent ban on a previous account.
- Your account has received too many strikes for repeated violations under the same policy or feature.
- You have repeatedly broken TikTok’s Intellectual Property Policy.
- The main purpose of your account is to break TikTok Shop rules.
What Happens When Your TikTok Content Gets Flagged: Consequences and Penalties
In TikTok’s Violation Point System, you’ll start to receive enforcement action when you reach 12 violation points. However, apart from this system, TikTok can apply additional enforcement across the platform, regardless of point or strike status. This may apply to all types of accounts, including seller and creator.
1. Content Removal
The most immediate and common consequence is the removal of the specific video, comment, or other content that violated the guidelines. You’ll typically receive an in-app notification explaining which guideline was broken and the associated points (if any).
2. Reduced Visibility
If your content violates TikTok’s content policies, it may be deemed ineligible for the For You feed. When this happens, your post will no longer appear in TikTok’s main discovery stream, leading to a noticeable drop in important metrics like views, likes, and comments.
However, ineligible content may still be discoverable through other means, such as search results or by visiting your profile directly.
3. Feature Limitations
This penalty is part of TikTok’s Violation Point system. As your violation points increase, TikTok may temporarily restrict access to key features.
For sellers, this could include suspension from mega campaigns, platform-funded free shipping, user growth programs, and affiliate program enrollment.
4. Account Ban
Account banning is the most severe consequence if you violate TikTok’s rules and guidelines. A permanent ban means you lose all access to your account, its content, and followers, and it’s generally much harder to reverse.
In some severe cases, TikTok may even ban the device to prevent new accounts from being created.
5. Legal Action Against the Seller
TikTok reserves the right to pursue legal action in extreme cases, especially those involving serious policy violations like fraud, counterfeiting, or criminal activity on the TikTok Shop.
According to the TikTok Shop Seller Performance Evaluation Policy, TikTok may also share information with regulatory authorities if needed to comply with applicable laws.
How to Appeal a TikTok Violation?
TikTok uses both AI and a 40,000-member Trust and Safety team to enforce its Community Guidelines. In fact, of the 1.6 million videos flagged daily, 85% are automatically removed by AI before ever reaching TikTok’s human moderator.
That might sound like a strong moderation system, but it’s not foolproof. So, what to do if you believe you’ve received a TikTok violation by mistake? The best course of action is to file an appeal.
How to submit an appeal on TikTok as a Seller:
- Log in to the TikTok Seller Center
- Go to Account Health
- Click Violation Records
- Find the specific violation and click “Appeal.”
- Submit your reason. Be sure to provide supporting documents such as images and videos.
- Wait for TikTok’s decision (timeline may vary)
How to submit an appeal as a TikTok Shop Creator:
- Log in to your TikTok Shop account.
- Go to the “Account Standing” section.
- Click the “Violation Details” tab to see specific issues.
- Find the violation and click the “Appeal” button.
- Submit your explanation and any supporting documents.
- After submitting, go to “Appeal Details” to monitor the status.
5 Things TikTok Shop Sellers Should Remember When Appealing a Violation
1. Sellers are allowed 2 appeals per violation
TikTok Shop gives sellers two chances to dispute a policy enforcement. Use them carefully. Provide solid proof and documentation. This is your opportunity to correct possible errors or clarify misunderstandings.
Also, be polite and professional in your appeal message. Even if you’re frustrated, maintain a respectful tone. Aggressive language is unlikely to help your case.
2. Submit your first appeal within 30 days
Once you receive a violation notice, you have exactly 30 calendar days to file your first appeal. Waiting too long could mean losing your right to respond.
3. You have 15 days to file a second appeal
If your first appeal gets rejected, TikTok gives you a 15-day window to submit a second appeal. Again, you still need to be composed at this stage. Review the reason for the first denial, gather stronger evidence, and resubmit within the given timeframe.
4. Late appeals won’t be reviewed
TikTok Shop follows strict deadlines when it comes to violations. If you miss the 30-day window for the first appeal or the 15-day deadline for the second appeal, your submission becomes invalid.
5. Violation points do reset (but only if you stay compliant)
As mentioned above, TikTok Violation Points expire after 90 days. However, your account should stay below 48 points. Hitting 48 will already trigger a permanent ban. So stay well below that threshold.
What If Your Appeal Is Denied?
Your second appeal was rejected. Now what? While TikTok Shop does not allow a third appeal for the same violation, you can still take steps to protect your standing.
Here are some tips to help you recover and move forward after a denied appeal on TikTok:
1. Understand why it was denied
The first crucial step after a denied appeal is to review the rejection notification thoroughly. Sometimes, the appeal review team will offer additional context, like insufficient evidence or a reiteration of the specific policy you supposedly violated.
From this, identify your gaps. Did you miss providing a crucial piece of evidence? Was your explanation unclear? Understanding their reasoning is key to determining your next steps.
2. Monitor your account health
Since you already received a TikTok Shop violation that you did not see coming, it is probably best to monitor your TikTok Shop health from time to time. It is also critical to stay updated on TikTok Shop policies.
To monitor your current violation points and account standing, log in to the TikTok Shop Seller Center, click Account Health or Shop Health, then go to Violation Records. Under this tab, you can also make an appeal for your violation and track its progress. Stay aware of how close you are to critical thresholds: 12, 24, or 48 points.
3. Let the point expire
Violation points expire after 90 days, as long as you do not hit 48 points. Staying clean during this period is crucial.
If you are at the critical threshold, it may be best to pause content creation.
Review TikTok Shop guidelines. Make sure your listings, fulfillment, customer handling, and TikTok livestreams follow the seller policies.
4. Try to contact TikTok through other methods
What if TikTok bans your account? What should you do next? If you’ve exhausted the in-app appeal options or if direct appeals haven’t worked, it’s time to explore other avenues.
Here are less guaranteed but worth trying ways to unban your TikTok account:
- TikTok’s Online Feedback Form: Go to tiktok.com/legal/report/feedback. Clearly state your account username, the date of the violation, what happened, the appeal IDs (if applicable), and why you believe the denial was still an error. Attach any new or additional evidence.
- TikTok Support on Social Media: Try tweeting or sending a direct message to @TikTokSupport on X (formerly Twitter). Keep your message clear, concise, and professional.
- Email TikTok Support: You can also email TikTok’s support team. Here are a few contact options you can try:
- For content issues or community violations: legal@tiktok.com
- For business/shop accounts: merchant-support@tiktok.com
- For general users: feedback@tiktok.com
Note: Some of these email addresses may no longer be actively monitored, as TikTok continues to update its support systems. However, they are still worth trying, especially if you cannot access your account through in-app options.
5. Consider other e-commerce options
Sometimes, despite your best efforts, an appeal might not be successful, especially for severe or repeated violations. When this happens, it’s important to reassess your options.
We mentioned this before but it is worth repeating: being banned on TikTok should not mean the end of your e-commerce journey.
Always diversify your presence. Consider selling your products on other e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Lazada.
Also, do not forget to establish a presence on other social media platforms as well, like Facebook, Instagram, and more. This helps mitigate the risk of one platform’s decision affecting your entire online business.
Need Help with Your TikTok Strategy?
Dealing with platform policies and potential violations can be overwhelming, especially when you’re also focused on creating great content or managing sales. Be Global E-commerce Corporation is here to help.
Our team specializes in supporting brands and sellers like you in managing ever-changing policies while building a strong presence across multiple platforms. Whether you want to launch your online store on TikTok or expand your sales to other channels, we can help you unlock your brand’s full potential.
Contact us today for a free consultation.
