Starting September 25, 2025, TikTok Shop will enforce new penalties on merchants and creators who repeatedly publish repetitive, low-quality, and non-engaging content.
The platform has outlined what falls into this category:
- Videos with little to no creativity, only showing products or hand movements.
- Content with no face, no voiceover, and no personalized scenario.
- Heavy reliance on generic narration such as text-to-speech, simple subtitles, or robotic voiceovers, without meaningful creator commentary.
- Posting near-identical content across multiple accounts.
What Happens If You Violate?
- Traffic restriction: reduced exposure, the lighter punishment.
- Account suspension: repeat violations may lead to permanent bans.
This signals a new round of adjustments for sellers, particularly in content creation. The trend is clear: content audits will only become stricter.
The first wave of changes came with the GMV MAX launch, which banned mixed edits and blocked potentially infringing ad practices at the source. Now, the second wave raises the bar even for original content—if it’s judged low-quality, it still gets removed.
What It Means for Sellers
These changes put higher demands on how sellers build and manage their operations teams:
- Content Directors: No more low-effort, mass-replicable formats. Directors must plan high-quality scripts at scale and analyze why successful creatives work, turning that into SOPs.
- Editors: Both human editors and AI must transform scripts into engaging videos tailored to the U.S. audience—getting pacing, music, and voice delivery right.
- Operators: Drawing on insights from experienced ad buyers, operators must identify which content is most likely to convert while controlling workflow efficiency and costs.
The Bigger Picture
TikTok Shop’s tightening rules make one thing clear: the entry threshold for sellers is rising fast. Low-quality content is no longer just ineffective—it’s a liability that can get you restricted or banned. Success will now hinge on creative strategy, operational discipline, and professional execution.
