A | London, Oct 12 (UNI) Refugee families in Syrian camps are begging for donations on TikTok while the company takes up to 70 per cent of the proceeds, a BBC investigation has found.
Children are livestreaming on the social media app for hours, pleading for digital gifts with a cash value.
The BBC saw streams earning up to $1,000 (£900) an hour, but found refugees received only a tiny fraction of that.
TikTok said it would take prompt action against "exploitative begging", the BBC report said.
The company said this type of content was not allowed on its platform, and it said its commission from digital gifts was significantly less than 70 per cent. But it declined to confirm the exact amount.
Earlier this year, TikTok users saw their feeds fill with livestreams of refugee families in Syrian camps, drawing support from some viewers and concerns about scams from others.
In the camps in north-west Syria, the BBC found that the trend was being facilitated by so-called "TikTok middlemen", who provided families with the phones and equipment to go live.
The middlemen said they worked with agencies affiliated to TikTok in China and the Middle East, who gave the families access to TikTok accounts. These agencies are part of TikTok's global strategy to recruit livestreamers and encourage users to spend more time on the app, the BBC said.
The gifts they're asking for are virtual, but they cost the viewers real money and can be withdrawn from the app as cash. Livestream viewers send the gifts - ranging from digital roses, costing a few cents, to virtual lions costing around $500 - to reward or tip creators for content.
For five months, the BBC followed 30 TikTok accounts broadcasting live from Syrian refugee camps and built a computer program to scrape information from them, showing that viewers were often donating digital gifts worth up to $1,000 an hour to each account.
Families in the camps said they were receiving only a tiny fraction of these sums, however, the BBC report said.
TikTok influencer and ex-professional rugby player Keith Mason donated $330 during one family's livestream and encouraged his nearly one million followers to do the same.
When told by the BBC that most of these funds were taken by the social media company, Mason said it was "ridiculous" and "unfair" to families in Syria.
"You've got to have some transparency. To me, that's very greedy. It's greed," he said.
TikTok's rules say you must have 1,000 followers before you can go live, you must not directly solicit for gifts and must "prevent the harm, endangerment or exploitation" of minors on the platform.
After the BBC contacted TikTok directly for comment, the company banned all of the accounts.
It said in a statement: "We are deeply concerned by the information and allegations brought to us by the BBC, and have taken prompt and rigorous action.
"This type of content is not allowed on our platform, and we are further strengthening our global policies around exploitative begging."
TikTok, the world's fastest-growing social media app, has made more than $6.2 billion in gross revenue from in-app spending since its launch in 2017, according to analytics company Sensor Tower.
UNI ING。 示意图。（图：iStock）一名54岁男子承认全身赤裸在拉扎鲁斯岛（Lazarus Island）骑脚踏车，并且在本地两所大学对女学生露下体。新传媒英文新闻网CNA报道，被告Leong Weng Wai 对三项在公共场所裸露的控状认罪。
B | 另外两项在新加坡国立大学裸露的控状则交由法官下判时一并考虑。去年11月14日，两名年龄不详的女受害人到拉扎鲁斯岛露营时，看到被告裸着身子骑着脚踏车，被告发现她们后立即下车，将脚踏车留在走道上，进入丛林躲起来。被告随后回到脚踏车上继续裸身骑行，并经过两名女受害人。被告称，自己的衣物被海水冲走，向她们要了一些衣物，但遭拒绝。两名女受害人隔天早上看到穿着衣物的被告，中午再次看到他时，他已脱去底裤和长裤；第三次撞见他时，他全身赤裸，肩膀上披了一个小毛巾。两名女受害人事后向警方举报，拉扎鲁斯岛出现一名全身赤裸的男子。在大学向女生露宝 被告也承认去年5月再南洋理工大学和国大向女学生露宝。去年5月18日晚上10点左右，被告到国大大学城的李棕体艺中心（Stephen Riady Centre）使用无障碍厕所。他把头探出门外，向经过的一名女子求助。女子看到他躺在厕所地上，并叫另一名女同学协助她一起把被告扶起来。被告告诉两人，他弄伤了膝盖和手肘。当她们靠近被告时，发现他没穿好裤子，露出下体。两名女生不断要求被告穿好裤子，并协助他到附近的巴士站。两人事后报警，指一名男子两次在厕所向女学生露宝。5月23日，南大一名女学生看到被告趴在校内一间无障碍厕所的墙上，被告穿着衬衫，但没穿好裤子。被告伸手请女子扶她起来，请她帮他穿好裤子，但女子发现被告能使用双手，因此拒绝了他的要求。她也警告被告不要靠向她。这时，另一名曾在同一晚目睹被告露下体的女学生在男同学的陪伴下回到厕所，正好撞见被告对着新对象“下手”，便报警处理。法官要求提交一份评估被告是否适合强制治疗令的报告，并将判刑延期至9月。在公共场所裸露的每一项控状如果罪成，被告将可被判坐牢长达三个月，或罚款高达2000元，或两者兼施。
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