TikTok users walk out after creator it promoted is convicted of rape

TikTokers in the U.K. are in the middle of a blackout protesting the platform after a creator it repeatedly promoted was convicted of rape.

Anthony Ekpenyong, 37, was convicted in a London court and sentenced to seven years in prison on Nov. 2. The night before, he was live on TikTok as musician Anthony Q Lion, having hidden his crime and impending sentence from his nearly 340,000 followers. During that final livestream, fans sent him more than 134,000 TikTok gifts, according to MyLondon; those gifts range in price from a few cents to $500, and TikTok gets half of the creator’s payout.

Per Forbes, Ekpenyong was part of TikTok’s creator fund and was managed directly by the platform’s talent team. He was also featured frequently on TikTok’s official U.K. Live account, with his latest appearance in October.

TikTokers involved in the protest are refusing to spend money on TikTok. More than 100 posted and commented saying they were participating, Forbes reports.

Bonnie Stuart, a TikToker participating in the blackout, told Forbes she and others want the platform to “step up its protocols and introduce [criminal background checks] and verification” for people in its creator program–and, presumably, for those it chooses to repeatedly promote on its official accounts. She said protestors are choosing the financial route “to hit TikTok where it hurts as they only seem concerned about money.”

TikTok’s policies say it will ban someone “if we become aware that the account holder is a violent or hateful actor or has been convicted of a sexual crime or other serious offense against a young person.”

It adds, “We may consider off-platform activity related to violence, hate, and child sexual exploitation and abuse to help make decisions about these account bans.”

At press time, Ekpenyong’s account appears to have been deleted; a TikTok spokesperson told Forbes TikTok did not remove it. She also said the platform was “horrified” to learn of Ekpenyong’s conviction and that it has removed him from the creator management program. Prior to his account’s deletion, he was stripped of his “Live Pro” status badge, which TikTok says it awards to creators who “consistently produce great live content.”