TikTok to limit content with premature election victory claims

The widely popular video-sharing app TikTok said Wednesday it will limit the spread of content that prematurely claims election victories before races are confirmed by The Associated Press.

TikTok will also add a banner pointing viewers to its election guide on content with unverifiable claims about voting, premature declarations of victory or attempts to dissuade people from voting by “exploiting COVID-19 as a voter suppression tactic,” the company said in a blog post. 

“Interest in the US elections is palpable, with many Americans having already cast ballots and many more preparing to exercise their right to vote in the coming days,” TikTok’s head of safety, Eric Han, said in the post. 

“And while TikTok isn’t an app built around political debates or real-time news, we want to make sure we’re supporting our community with access to authoritative information if they’re having relevant conversations in our app,” Han added. 

The decision adds to TikTok’s election guide, which the app launched last month. New resources to the election guide on Nov. 3 will provide users access to the AP’s interactive map with live results for races. 

TikTok last year banned paid political ads, including paid political content posted by influencers.

TikTok’s move to limit the spread of premature victory content follows similar actions taken by U.S.-based tech giants Facebook and Google. 

The Trump administration has pushed back hard against TikTok, owned by Chinese group ByteDance, along with other Chinese technology groups such as telecommunications company Huawei over national security concerns.