While TikTok has banned paid political ads since 2019, campaign strategists circumvent the ban by paying influencers to promote political issues
TikTok will work to prevent paid content creators from posting political messages on the short-form video app as part of its build-up to the US midterm elections in November, the company said on Wednesday (August 17).
Critics and lawmakers accuse TikTok and rival social media companies, including Meta Platforms and Twitter, of doing too little to stop the spread of political misinformation and divisive content on their apps.
While TikTok has banned paid political ads since 2019, campaign strategists have circumvented the ban by paying influencers to promote political issues.
The company is seeking to close the loophole by holding briefings with creators and talent agencies to remind them that posting paid political content is against TikTok’s policies, Eric Han, TikTok’s head of US security, said during a conference call with reporters. .
He added that internal teams, including those working on trust and safety, will monitor for signs that creators are being paid to post political content, and the company will also rely on media reports and external partners to find offending posts. .
“We saw this as an issue in 2020,” Han said. “As soon as we learn about it … we will remove it from our platform.”
TikTok announced its plan after similar updates from Meta and Twitter.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said on Tuesday it would restrict political advertisers from running new ads a week before an election, a move it also took in 2020.
Last week, Twitter said it planned to revive earlier strategies for the midterm elections, including putting labels in front of some misleading tweets and inserting credible information into timelines to debunk false claims before they spread further online. . Civil rights and voting rights experts said the plan was not adequate to prepare for the election. – Rappler.com
