Critics and lawmakers accuse TikTok and rival social media
companies including Meta Platforms and Twitter of doing too
little to stop political misinformation and divisive content
from spreading on their apps.
While TikTok has banned paid political ads since 2019, campaign
strategists have skirted the ban by paying influencers to
promote political issues. [nL1N2HH1NQ
The company seeks to close the loophole by hosting briefings
with creators and talent agencies to remind them that posting
paid political content is against TikTok's policies, said Eric
Han, TikTok's head of U.S. safety, during a briefing with
reporters.
He added that internal teams, including those that work 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 outside partners to find violating posts.
"We saw this as an issue in 2020," Han said. "Once we find out
about it ... we will remove it from our platform."
TikTok broadcast its plan following similar updates from Meta
and Twitter.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said Tuesday it will
restrict political advertisers from running new ads a week
before the election, an action it also took in 2020.
Last week, Twitter said it planned to revive previous strategies
for the midterm election, including placing labels in front of
some misleading tweets and inserting reliable information into
timelines to debunk false claims before they spread further
online. Civil and voting rights experts said the plan was not
adequate to prepare for the election.
(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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