Thursday, September 22, 2022

TikTok Forces All Political Accounts To Undergo Verification While Banning Fundraising

The US Midterms are almost here and TikTok says it’s on a political cleanup mission to better prepare for the grand event.

The company revealed this week how it will now be requiring all political accounts on the app to undergo verification. This new rule applies to politicians, political parties, and those involving governmental departments. Similarly, the company outlined today how it would ban all content whose main aim is fundraising.

TikTok and many other leading digital apps have been struggling in terms of keeping a check on political misinformation. And with the elections in November, what better time to crack down than now?

All accounts in the past were allowed to put up any content without undergoing strict surveillance. And that’s when the app was heavily criticized and forced to undergo scrutiny on the matter from American lawmakers.

In 2019, we saw the famous video-making app ban all forms of political advertising. But this is the first time that we’re hearing the addition of steps that will validate user profiles linked to the world of politics.

Any account that wishes to be verified can request it. The app will carry out a list of measures that can help confirm the profile’s identity that they feel belongs to a political party or a politician.

The company is also set to update its current policies in place in this regard, and carry out a complete ban on political fundraising. Therefore, any account that wishes to break the rules will be prevented from getting access to the app.

Additionally, such accounts would be restricted further from making use of money-making endeavors that are delineated for the app’s influencer community. So even if it's for the sake of gifting or paying others, they won’t be allowed.

So if you happen to be linked to politicians in some way, shape, or form, you might want to be aware of the company’s new practices.


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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

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