Not as bad as it sounds. TikTok tried to create somewhat of a safe space and it backfired.

That is the other direction; they were not trying to create a safe space, they accepted their own platform as toxic and tried to protect vulnerable individuals by excluding them.

I am not saying that there should be a mob with pitchforks, but it is surely a backward way to handle the problem; it is like saying "If we forbid employing women then we have no maternity leave problem"

as opposed to western social media promoting it. hard choice.

At least with the Western media, a person has the choice as to whether he/she wants to view the content.