Community Guidelines
TikTok refreshed its Community Guidelines mostly with formatting and version-metadata changes (a table-of-contents entry removed, update-notice text replaced with cleaner release/effective dates and a link to a version archive). The one substantive change tightens the Regulated Goods, Services, and Commercial Activities rule: it now bans 'providing access to' regulated items (not just trading, marketing, or promoting them), and only 'Verified' (not just 'Registered') business accounts can sell regulated items on TikTok Shop.
Broader ban on 'providing access to' regulated goods
TikTok expanded what counts as breaking the regulated-goods rule. Before, only trading, marketing, or promoting these items was banned. Now, simply helping someone get access to them (like sharing a link or a referral) can also violate the rule and put your content or account at risk.
“providing access to regulated, prohibited, or high-risk goods and services”
What you can do — If you post content that mentions or links to regulated, prohibited, or high-risk goods (like weapons, drugs, or age-restricted products), review TikTok's Regulated Goods policy to make sure you're not indirectly helping people get access to them.
Higher bar for business accounts to sell regulated items
Only 'Verified' business accounts can now sell or market regulated items on TikTok Shop, whereas before, any 'Registered' business account could qualify. Sellers who were previously eligible but not verified may lose the ability to sell these items.
“Verified business accounts and verified TikTok Shop sellers may be allowed to sell or market some regulated items”
What you can do — If you sell regulated items through a TikTok business account, confirm your account has completed TikTok's verification process, not just registration, to keep that ability.
| 1 | 1 | Community Guidelines |
| 2 | 2 | |
| 3 | 3 | - Overview |
| 4 | 4 | - Community Principles |
| 5 | 5 | - Youth Safety and Well-Being |
| 6 | - Safety and Civility | |
− REMOVED'Safety and Civility' removed from table of contents The table of contents at the top of the document no longer lists 'Safety and Civility' as its own line item, even though the Safety and Civility section itself is still present later in the document. This looks like a navigation cleanup, not a content change. | ||
| 7 | 6 | - Mental and Behavioral Health |
| 8 | 7 | - Sensitive and Mature Themes |
| 9 | 8 | - Integrity and Authenticity |
| 10 | 9 | - Regulated Goods, Services, and Commercial Activities |
| 11 | 10 | - Privacy and Security |
| 12 | 11 | - For You feed Eligibility Standards |
| 13 | 12 | - Accounts and Features |
| 14 | 13 | - Enforcement |
| 15 | 14 | |
| 16 | On September 24, 2026, we are updating our Community Guidelines so you can continue to create, discover, and share safely on TikTok. Check out the new Community Guidelines [here](https://www.tiktok.com/safety/en/policies-and-engagement/overview). | |
| 15 | Released August 25, 2026 | |
| 17 | 16 | |
| 18 | Released August 14, 2025 | |
| 17 | Effective September 24, 2026 | |
| 19 | 18 | |
| 20 | Effective September 13, 2025 | |
| 19 | Previous Versions: [Here](https://www.tiktok.com/safety/en/policies-and-engagement/cg-archive) | |
± CHANGEDUpdate announcement replaced with version metadata and archive link The old notice announcing the September 2026 update (with a link to the new guidelines) was replaced with simple 'Released' and 'Effective' dates, plus a new link letting you view previous versions of the guidelines. | ||
| 21 | 20 | |
| 22 | 21 | TikTok is where people discover things they love, build communities, and express themselves. Our mission is simple: we want to inspire creativity and bring joy. |
| 23 | 22 | |
| 24 | 23 | We have Community Guidelines to help keep TikTok a safe and positive experience. These rules apply to everyone and everything on our platform. |
| 25 | 24 | |
| 26 | 25 | You're in the right place if you're wondering: |
| 68 | 67 | - **Edited Media and AI-Generated Content (AIGC):** We require clear labeling when AI or editing is used to realistically depict people or scenes. We don't allow AIGC that misleads about matters of public importance or that harms individuals. |
| 69 | 68 | - **Unoriginal Content and Intellectual Property Rights:** We don't allow content that violates intellectual property rights, including reposts of copyrighted or trademarked material without permission. |
| 70 | 69 | - **Deceptive Behavior & Fake Engagement:** We don't allow accounts that mislead or try to manipulate our platform, or the trade of services that artificially boost engagement or trick the recommendation system. |
| 71 | 70 | |
| 72 | 71 | **Regulated Goods, Services, and Commercial Activities** |
| 73 | 72 | |
| 74 | - **Regulated Goods, Services, and Commercial Activities:** We don't allow the trade, marketing, or promotion of regulated, prohibited, or high-risk goods and services. Registered business accounts and verified TikTok Shop sellers may be allowed to sell or market some regulated items if they meet strict requirements. | |
| 73 | - **Regulated Goods, Services, and Commercial Activities:** We don't allow trade, marketing, or providing access to regulated, prohibited, or high-risk goods and services. Verified business accounts and verified TikTok Shop sellers may be allowed to sell or market some regulated items if they meet strict requirements. | |
± CHANGEDRegulated goods rule now also bans 'providing access to' such items The rule against trading, marketing, or promoting regulated, prohibited, or high-risk goods and services (like weapons, drugs, or other restricted items) now also explicitly bans 'providing access to' those goods and services, which covers more actions than before, such as sharing links or connecting people to sellers. ± CHANGEDSelling regulated items now requires a 'Verified' business account, not just 'Registered' Previously, 'Registered business accounts' could sell or market some regulated items if they met strict requirements. Now only 'Verified business accounts' can do so, which is a higher bar for sellers. | ||
| 75 | 74 | - **Commercial Disclosure and Paid Marketing:** If you're promoting a product, brand, or business, you must use TikTok's content disclosure setting. |
| 76 | 75 | - **Frauds and Scams:** We don't allow content that promotes or facilitates scams, fraud, or deceptive schemes. |
| 77 | 76 | |
| 78 | 77 | **Privacy and Security** |
| 79 | 78 | |
| 80 | 79 | - **Personal Information:** We don't allow sharing personal information that could lead to harm, such as identity theft, stalking, or fraud. |