TikTok has taken down 'poverty porn' videos of women shivering in mud baths and crying after a government banned them

• TikTok has taken down "poverty porn" videos after Indonesia banned them, Rest of World reported.
• The trend involves showing women shivering in mud baths and sometimes crying. 
• A woman who said she earned $600 in nine sessions said it was better than working for $2 a day.

TikTok has taken down "poverty porn" videos of women sitting in mud baths and crying after they were banned by the Indonesian government.

The trend known as "mandi lumpur," or mud baths, involves Indonesian women in their fifties and sixties sitting in a pool of water and mud while being shown on a TikTok livestream. Viewers send "coins" and gifts that are exchanged for cash.

Tri Rismaharini, Indonesia's minister of social affairs, urged local administrations to enforce new rules against uploading mud content earlier this year, according to nonprofit tech publication Rest of World, in an attempt to tackle what is considered to be "poverty porn" exploitation.

A takedown request was issued to TikTok by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology on January 30, and the company had complied, per the outlet.

The women could make about $130 per livestream, according to the man who claimed to be responsible for the trend, Rest of World reported. 

Inak Mawar, 55, told Indonesian media outlet Detik she preferred taking part in the videos after she earned almost $600 in nine sessions, compared to making just $2 a day working in rice fields.

In a statement to Rest of World, TikTok said the safety of its community was its top priority: "With regard to the recent trend in question, we are deeply concerned by such content and we would like to remind our community members not to participate in activities that could put them in harm's way."

TikTok didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Indonesia is TikTok's second-largest market after the United States with about 107 million users, according to Oberlo data.

Mutiara Ika Pratiwi, the head of Perempuan Mahardhika, an Indonesian women's rights organization, told Rest of World: "The government must intervene to fix the root of the problem — namely, poverty, and the problem of gender inequality."