The Chinese-owned social video platform TikTok announced on Wednesday that it is now working to ban content providers from posting paid political messages on the app, in advance of the US midterm election in November.
Previously, TikTok had been criticized for not doing enough to restrict the spread of political misinformation and divisive content on its platform.
Since TikTok banned sponsored political ads in 2019, campaign strategists instead paid influencers to promote political issues.
During a conference with reporters, Eric Han, TikTok’s head of US safety, said that the firm is working to close the loophole by holding briefings with creators and talent agencies to remind them that publishing paid political content is against TikTok’s policies.
Last week, Twitter announced plans to revive previous midterm election measures, such as labeling some misleading tweets and placing reliable information into timelines to rebut false claims.
