Read full article

Major Policy Effort, or Public Relations Move?

With the combined scrutiny of recent negative political stories and rising public pressure to protect younger users, joined by a growing and vocal contingent of anti-MLM influencers on YouTube and Reddit, perhaps it should come as no surprise that TikTok responded with disproportionate policy changes against perceived bad actors to generate positive chatter between users, and positive press for the TikTok brand.

“Now is the time for direct selling companies to double down on compliance,” says Webb. “I think it’s really important for direct selling companies to understand that their responsibility to their ownership and their field, first and foremost, is to their individual brand and not the channel as a whole.”

“Many companies aren’t assertive about telling their own story,” Webb continues. “So many probably don’t do enough to build up that goodwill in the bank of public trust by telling positive stories about their enterprise, their products, their leaders, and their corporate citizenship efforts when times are good. If you wait for when times are bad, it’s too late.”

Some experts believe bans by social media platforms may constitute more bark than bite and are not really enforceable.