TikTok Again Blocks Paid Political Campaigns On Its Platform

TikTok bans paid political campaign content. (photo: twitter @tiktok)

JAKARTA - TikTok will seek to prevent content creators from posting paid political messages on the short video app, as part of its preparations for midterm elections in the US in November. This was confirmed by TikTok management on Wednesday, August 17.

Critics and lawmakers have accused TikTok and rival social media companies including Meta Platforms and Twitter of doing very little to stop political misinformation and divisive content from spreading on their apps.

While TikTok itself has banned paid political advertising since 2019. Political campaign strategists have circumvented the ban by paying influencers to promote political issues.

"We are now seeking to close the loophole by holding briefings with content creators and talent agencies to remind them that posting paid political content is against TikTok policy," Eric Han, TikTok's US chief of security, said during the briefing.

He added that internal teams, including those working on trust and security, would monitor for signs that content creators are being paid to post political content. TikTok will also rely on media reports and outside partners to find infringing posts.

"We see this as a problem in 2020," Han said. "Once we find out about it ... we will remove it from our platform."

TikTok announced its plans following similar updates from Meta and Twitter.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said on Tuesday, August 16 that it would restrict political advertisers from running new ads a week before the election, an action it will also take in 2020.

Last week, Twitter said it planned to revive its previous strategy for midterm elections, including placing labels in front of some misleading tweets and inserting credible information into timelines to debunk false claims before spreading further online. Civil rights and suffrage experts say the plan is not enough to prepare for a better election.