TikTok preps for midterm misinformation chaos. In just a few years, TikTok has become one of the fastest-growing social networks in the world — and as the 2022 midterm election cycle heats up, it’s gearing up to tackle the maddening problem of election disinformation.
Eric Khan, TikTok’s head of security in the US, explained in a blog post on Wednesday how the company plans to combat the threat of malicious disinformation. First, this week TikTok will begin publishing data from its voting center, which will provide official voting information in the coming weeks after the results are announced, the Associated Press reported. TikTok says it will link to the election center through tags placed on content related to the period, including videos posted by governments, candidates and political parties. Khan said that while TikTok banned paid political ads in 2019, the site maintains its current policy of banning paid content. During the 2020 election cycle, campaigns and political groups, including the Biden-Harris campaign, partnered with influencers on platforms to reach voters who are spending more time online due to the coronavirus pandemic. “TikTok does not allow paid political advertising and content that influencers are paid to create,” Khan said in a blog post on Wednesday.
TikTok continues to grow in popularity despite numerous regulatory and political threats to ban the app entirely in the United States. Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly tried to take away Dicta offline, citing national security problems. As part of this initiative, Trump signed several administrative orders, in which US companies and moving Dicton’s parents sought to ban any operations. Last summer, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that overturned the Trump administration’s ban and ordered the Commerce Department to investigate TikTok’s ties to Beijing.
“We know we are one of the most security-sensitive platforms out there, and our goal is to remove any doubt about the security of US users’ data,” Chu wrote.
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