TikTok requires political account verification, campaign bans fundraising ahead of US midterm elections
TikTok will start requiring accounts belonging to US government agencies, politicians and political parties to be verified and will ban campaign fundraising videos, short-form video apps for know on Wednesday.
This move came like TikTokowned by China ByteDanceand other social media platforms are working to stop political disinformation ahead of the US midterm elections in November, after years of criticism for allowing such content. develop on their services.
TikTok says political accounts can submit verification requests, and the company will also work to confirm the authenticity of profiles it believes belong to politicians or political parties.
A verified account, indicated by a blue check mark on TikTok and other platforms like Twitter, means the platform has claimed the account.
TikTok has long faced scrutiny from US lawmakers, who have questioned the Chinese-owned app’s user data protections. The app has also sought to maintain its image as a place for dance videos and comedy skits, and has banned political advertising since 2019.
To help enforce the ban, politicians and partisan accounts will automatically be prevented from accessing advertising features, TikTok said in a blog post.
TikTok said it will update its policies to ban campaign fundraising. Content that will be banned under the new policy includes videos of politicians asking for donations or political parties directing users to contribute on their websites.
Accounts will also be banned from using monetization features available to influencers on the app, like digital payments and giveaways.
© Thomson Reuters 2022
