TIKTOK has introduced a new policy that disallows Government, politicians and political parties to monetise or solicit funds through the popular short-form mobile video platform. 

The move is in line with the company’s aims to develop policies that “foster and promote a positive environment that brings people together”. 

In a statement today, TikTok said it currently works to keep harmful misinformation off its platform, prohibits political advertising and shares authoritative information about elections. 

“TikTok has long prohibited political advertising, including both paid ads on the platform and creators being paid directly to make branded content.  

“Political content is prohibited in advertisements and this restriction is also now applied at an account level.  

“This means accounts belonging to politicians and political parties will automatically have their access to advertising features turned off, which will help TikTok enforce its existing policy in a consistent manner.” 

On occasions where Governments may need access to TikTok’s advertising services to support public health and safety and access to information, like advertising COVID-19 booster campaigns, TikTok said it will allow Government organisations to advertise in limited circumstances. 

Even so, they will still be required to work with a TikTok representative. 

Government, politicians and political parties will also be prohibited from accessing other monetisation features, specifically features like gifting, tipping and e-commerce, and will be ineligible for the company’s creator fund.  

“These changes, along with TikTok’s existing ban on political advertising, mean that accounts belonging to Governments, politicians and political parties, will largely not be able to give or receive money through TikTok’s monetisation features or spend money promoting their content. 

“No more solicitation for campaign fundraising too” 

“In the coming weeks, TikTok will also be changing its policies to disallow solicitation for campaign fundraising,” the company added.  

“That includes content such as a video from a politician asking for donations or a political party directing people to a donation page on their website.” 

By prohibiting political fundraising and limiting access to its monetisation features, TikTok said it enables people to discuss the issues that are relevant to their lives while also protecting the creative, entertaining platform that the community wants.  

A spokesperson for TikTok told the Malay Mail they could not comment on whether there are a substantial number of political accounts using monetisation features on TikTok as the company does not release information about specific user demographics. 

The latest policy change – a global one – comes ahead of the prospect of the 15th General Elections (GE15) being held in Malaysia, in which TikTok could play a major role in swaying public perception and votes. 

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr’s recent win in the Philippines elections, for instance, was credited, in part, to TikTok videos, which targeted voters under 40 years old, who form approximately 56% of the 65.7 mil electorate and had little or no memory of his father’s era. 

Marcos Senior is infamously known for his declaration of martial law in 1972, which saw a reported 3,257 known extrajudicial killings, 35,000 documented tortures and 70,000 incarcerations. 

Election misinformation on TikTok is also rampant – TikTok previously removed more than 340,000 videos in the US during the second half of 2020 for spreading election misinformation, disinformation or manipulated media related to the country’s elections that year.  

TikTok has since rolled out an elections centre to fight misinformation ahead of the US midterm elections in November. – Sept 22, 2022 

https://focusmalaysia.my/ahead-of-ge15-govt-politicians-political-parties-banned-from-fundraising-on-tiktok/