TikTok issued a ban on disinformation campaigns in sweeping changes made to its community guidelines ... [+]
In the wake of rising concern over how social media companies are handling misinformation, TikTok on Wednesday issued new community guidelines explicitly prohibiting “disinformation campaigns.”
The updated community guidelines expand upon company rules already in effect prohibiting violent, graphic, or dangerous content. This is the first time the company has directly banned political disinformation. TikTok describes the new ban as “content that misleads community members about elections or other civic processes.”
The guidelines fall short of explaining exactly what TikTok considers misleading, leaving at least some room for interpretation in the future, but Reuters reports that TikTok would prohibit slightly altered forms of media such as the doctored viral video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from last year that made it appear as though she was slurring her speech. The original speed of the video was slowed down by about 75%. TikTok rival Facebook said in its new community guidelines Monday that it will allow edits such as the infamous Pelosi video.
TikTok recently came under fire after the Washington Post reported that former U.S. employees of TikTok were told to suppress videos that included political debates, heavy kissing and other topics that would be generally be viewed as offensive in Beijing. TikTok executives insisted that they do not remove content based on sensitivities in China and said the U.S. operation has full autonomy to operate as needed.
But concerns remain among U.S. cybersecurity and legal experts. In December, the Defense Department issued a recommendation that all military branches should prohibit the use of the app for security purposes. TikTok is no longer allowed on government-issued phones in most branches of the military.
As Forbes previously reported, TikTok ignored concerns about misinformation and deepfake video technology until today’s community guideline update. The company reportedly built a yet-to-be-launched deepfake-maker that will let users swap faces in recorded videos.
