TikTok Announces New Rules for Political Accounts

TikTok has announced new rules for political accounts, including government TikTok accounts.

The new rules cover:

• verification
• advertising
• monetisation
• political donations

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Verification of government TikTok accounts

If you are a government, political or public sector TikTok account, having verification is very important to demonstrate to the public that you are who you say you are. If you have ever searched for your own name on TikTok you are likely to find accounts that have your name already. It's very important to get verification (blue tick).

Up to now, verification was an option, but starting in the US, TikTok is making verification for political parties, politicians, and government accounts mandatory. I think this is a great move and I think all social networks should work directly with government agencies to verify their accounts. After all, they exist in the public interest and are a key pillar of society to disrupt the spread of disinformation.

Advertising on TikTok for government or political accounts

TikTok has never allowed political advertising - whether paid ads on the platform or creators being paid directly to make branded content. They do that by prohibiting political content in an ad, and now TikTok is applying restrictions at an account level. This means accounts belonging to politicians and political parties will automatically have their access to advertising features turned off.

However, in instances where governments need to reach the public on issues of critical importance, TikTok will work directly with government agencies to access their ads services.

"...such as to support public health and safety and access to information, like advertising COVID-19 booster campaigns. We will continue to allow government organizations to advertise in limited circumstances, and they will be required to be working with a TikTok representative."

Political Donations

Solicitation for campaign fundraising will be disallowed which means the banning of content such as videos from politicians asking for donations, or political parties directing people to donation pages on their websites.

Monetisation

TikTok says political accounts will no longer be able to access advertising features on TikTok and will also be prohibited from accessing other monetisation features like gifting, tipping, and e-commerce.

"These changes build on TikTok's existing policies of prohibiting harmful misinformation and banning political advertising and are designed to promote a positive environment that brings people together, not divide them," the company said.

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