TikTok bans political ads

TikTok, the social video app owned by China’s ByteDance, has banned political advertising claiming it doesn’t match up with the more jovial experience of the platform.

The company’s VP of global business solutions Blake Chandlee, who recently joined the company from Facebook, said in a blog post on Friday (4 October) that the nature of paid political ads “is not something we believe fits the TikTok platform experience”.

“To that end, we will not allow paid ads that promote or oppose a candidate, current leader, political party or group or issue at the federal, state or local level — including election-related ads, advocacy ads or issue ads,” he said.

Chandlee goes on to explain that TikTok wants to be known as a place for creative expression, and one that creates a “positive, refreshing environment”.

“We’re intent on always staying true to why users uniquely love the TikTok platform itself: for the app’s lighthearted and irreverent feeling that makes it such a fun place to spend time,” he said.

Two-year old TikTok, which is the international version of ByteDance’s shortform video app, has been focusing on accelerating user growth and has a burgeoning advertising offer. It offers in-feed video ads, launch screen ads and other native ads like its sponsored hashtag challenges. It also more recently launched a beta version of the TikTok Creator Marketplace, which will help to connect brands with TikTok creators for their marketing campaigns.

In China, the app was launched in September 2016 as Douyin. TikTok doesn’t report user numbers publicly, but is said to have around 500 million users worldwide.

China’s influence over the 15-second video app has come into question recently, after it was revealed that it censors videos that are critical of the government.

A Guardian report revealed the company’s moderation guidelines, which instructs its content moderators to censor videos that mention Tiananmen Square, Tibetan independence, or the banned religious group Falun Gong.

The app has also come under fire for censoring coverage of the Hong Kong protests on its platform, and for banning any content that could be seen as positive to gay people or gay rights in some countries, according to reports.

The blanket ban further distances TikTok from its social media competitors Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, which have faced legal challenges for allowing the spread of misleading content and political manipulation. The platforms have since tightened rules for political advertising, and employed many more moderators, to prevent further abuses.