TikTok is now implementing measures to prevent media organizations with government backing from showing advertisements to users in other countries.
In a recent news release, TikTok stated it is "expanding its state-affiliated media policies to further address state-affiliated media accounts that attempt to reach communities outside their home country on current global events and affairs."
TikTok Expands Policies to Curb State-Affiliated Media Influence
The social network also confirmed that it is rolling out steps to identify these accounts and implement certain restrictions, such as preventing them from being recommended in users' For You pages.
These measures from TikTok aim to address concerns over state-affiliated entities, such as governments and political figures, spreading propaganda and misinformation through media content shared on TikTok.
A research report published in 2022 found that nearly 20 percent of videos appearing in TikTok's in-app search results contain misinformation and misleading claims about sensitive topics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the US elections.
According to TikTok, it has already identified and halted 15 influence operations, along with the 3,000 TikTok accounts associated with them, since January 2024.
This illustration photograph taken on October 30, 2023, shows the logo of TikTok, a short-form video hosting service owned by ByteDance, on a smartphone in Mulhouse, eastern France. SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP via Getty Images
TikTok Disrupts State-Backed Influence Operations
The company said that many of these influence operations, some with millions of followers on TikTok, were geared towards shifting the political landscape of their targeted audience. For example, TikTok has reportedly disrupted similar operations targeting a major election in Indonesia this year.
Additionally, TikTok stated in a report that it successfully disrupted 16 Chinese government-affiliated accounts in February 2024 that were spreading pro-Chinese policy propaganda to US audiences.
The company has also successfully stopped other government-backed influence campaigns targeting users in South America, Iran, Iraq, and war-torn Ukraine.
Bloomberg reports that these changes do not stop state-affiliated media ads from showing up in search results. Additionally, users who click links directed to this type of content will still be able to access it within the app.
In April, President Joe Biden signed a bill forcing Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest from TikTok or face an absolute ban in the US. A TikTok ban has been under discussion ever since investigations revealed a number of TikTok-related national security concerns.
In response, TikTok has assured that it will not be selling the platform and has even filed a lawsuit challenging the law, stating that certain provisions infringe on citizens' free speech rights.
TikTok has also repeatedly denied connections to the Chinese government, and its CEO has appeared in Congress to testify against allegations that the app has been spying on American journalists.
