Platform Values and Strategic Positioning: An Analysis of TikTok’s Community Guidelines and Public Communications in 2018-2024

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS19420252705

Abstract

As large digital platforms are criticized for lacking accountability to lawmakers, stakeholders, and publics, their discourse on values has become a strategic positioning to showcase their fidelity to the public good. The Chinese short-video platform TikTok, which has proved both popular and controversial since its emergence in 2018, serves as an example of how platforms employ values to respond to external demands. Drawing from positioning theory and research on platform values, this article conducts an analysis of TikTok’s community guidelines and public communications from 2018 to 2024. Our findings are organized around three discourses that depict the development of TikTok’s strategic positioning, its justification for content moderation, and emphasis on its global position as a strategic choice to counter external regulatory threats.

Author Biographies

Yang Xu, University of Helsinki

Doctoral Researcher, Media and Communication Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences

Kari Karppinen, University of Helsinki

Senior University Lecturer, Media and Communication Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences.

Mervi Pantti, University of Helsinki

Professor, Media and Communication Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences

Downloads

Published

2025-12-29

How to Cite

Xu, Y., Karppinen, K., & Pantti, M. (2025). Platform Values and Strategic Positioning: An Analysis of TikTok’s Community Guidelines and Public Communications in 2018-2024 . Observatorio (OBS*), 19(4). https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS19420252705

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 4 (2025)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Yang Xu, Kari Karppinen, Mervi Pantti

This is an Open Acess article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, sharing and adaptation, provided appropriate credit is given to the original author and the journal.