TikTok said it will work to prevent content creators from posting paid political messages on the app, in preparation for the US midterm in November.
Although the company has banned paid political ads since 2019, campaign strategists have bypassed the ban by paying influencers to promote political issues.
TikTok security chief Eric Han said Wednesday that the company seeks to fill the gap by hosting briefings with creators and talent agencies to remind them that posting paid political content is against its policies.
Mr. Han added that internal teams, including those working on trust and security, will check 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. infringing post.
Social media companies, including TikTok and Twitter, have been criticized by critics and lawmakers who say they don’t do enough to stop political misinformation from spreading to their apps.
Since the last election cycle, the video app has grown in popularity, solidifying its place as a problematic spot for disinformation.
TikTok also announced it is launching an election center that will help users find voting locations and candidate information, and is working with over a dozen fact-checking organizations to debunk misinformation.
The move comes as other social media companies announce measures they will take ahead of the medium term.
On Tuesday, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said it will block political advertisers from running new ads a week before the election, which it did in 2020 as well.
Last week, Twitter said it planned to re-launch previous strategies, including labeling in front of some misleading tweets and inserting reliable information into timelines to debunk false claims before they spread further online.
However, civil rights and voting experts said the plan was not adequate to prepare for the elections.
The mid-term elections will be held on 8 November. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 seats in the 100-member Senate and governorates in 36 states are running for elections.
