To help keep our platform welcoming and authentic for everyone, we are focused on ensuring it is free from harmful misinformation.
(I) Our policies and approach
Our Integrity & Authenticity (I&A) policies within our CGs are the first line of defence in combating harmful misinformation and deceptive behaviours on our platform. All users are required to comply with our CGs, which set out the circumstances where we will remove, or otherwise limit the availability of, content.
Paid ads are also subject to our
ad policies and are reviewed against these policies before being allowed on our platform. Our ad policies specifically prohibit inaccurate, misleading, or false content that may cause significant harm to individuals or society, regardless of intent. They also prohibit other misleading, inauthentic and deceptive behaviours. Ads deemed in violation of these policies will not be permitted on our platform, and accounts deemed in severe or repeated violation may be suspended or banned.
In 2023, in order to improve our existing ad policies, we launched four granular policies in the EEA. The policies cover:
- Medical Misinformation
- Dangerous Misinformation
- Synthetic and Manipulated Media
- Dangerous Conspiracy Theories
We have been constantly working on improving the implementation of these policies, and reflecting on whether there are further focused areas for which we should develop new policies. We launched a fifth granular ad policy covering climate misinformation at the end of 2024. It prohibits false or misleading claims relating to climate change, such as, denying the existence and impacts of climate change, falsely stating that long-term impacts of climate mitigation strategies are worse than those of climate changes or undermining the validity or credibility of data or research that documents well-established scientific consensus.
Our
ad policies require advertisers to meet a number of requirements regarding the landing page. For example, the landing page must be functioning and must contain complete and accurate information including about the advertiser. Ads risk not being approved if the product or service advertised on the landing page does not match that included in the ad.
In line with our approach of building a platform that brings people together, not divides them, we have long
prohibited political ads and political
branded content. Specifically, we do
not allow paid ads (nor landing pages) that promote or oppose a candidate, current leader, political party or group, or content that advocates a stance (for or against) on a local, state, or federal issue of public importance in order to influence a political decision or outcome. Similar rules apply in respect of branded content. We also classify certain accounts as
Government, Politician, and Political Party Accounts (GPPPA) and we have introduced restrictions on these at an account level. This means accounts belonging to the government, politicians and political parties will automatically have their access to advertising features turned off. We make exceptions for governments in certain circumstances e.g., to promote public health. We make various brand safety tools available to advertisers to assist in helping to ensure that their ads are not placed adjacent to content they do not consider to fit with their brand values. While any content that is violative of our CGs, including our I&A policies, is removed, the brand safety tools are designed to help advertisers to further protect their brand. For example, a family-oriented brand may not want to appear next to videos containing news-related content. We have adopted the industry accepted framework in support of these principles.
(II) Verification in the context of ads
We provide verified badges on some accounts including certain advertisers. Verified badges help users make informed choices about the accounts they choose to follow. It's an easy way for notable figures to let users know they’re seeing authentic content, and it helps to build trust among high-profile accounts and their followers. For individuals, non-profits, institutions, businesses, or official brand pages, this badge builds an important layer of clarity with the TikTok community. We consider a number of factors before granting a verified badge, such as whether the notable account is authentic, unique, and active.
- Making state-affiliated media accounts that attempt to reach communities outside their home country on current global events and affairs ineligible for recommendation, which means their content won't appear in the For You feed.
- Prohibiting state-affiliated media accounts in all markets where our state-controlled media labels are available from advertising outside of the country with which they are primarily affiliated.
- Investing in our detection capabilities of state-affiliated media accounts.
- Working with third party external experts to shape our state-affiliated media policy and assessment of state-controlled media labels.
