For the EU elections

TikTok announces measures against disinformation

For many Western countries, TikTok's proximity to the Chinese leadership makes the company even more suspicious.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Lionel BONAVENTURE)

In preparation for the European elections at the beginning of June, TikTok has presented new initiatives in the fight against misinformation on the Internet. The platform, which is primarily known for its dance videos, announced on Friday that special information pages would be offered in the respective national language in all 27 member states of the European Union. At the same time, statements would be increasingly checked for accuracy.

"We do not tolerate any violations of our guidelines aimed at the electoral process," said Tim Klaws, who is responsible for political contacts at TikTok in German-speaking countries. His company employs 6,000 content moderators in Europe alone, including more than 800 in German-speaking countries. "Many of them are specially trained to deal with misinformation in the context of elections."

In the "super election year 2024", in which around half of humanity is called to vote, TikTok and other online networks are under increased scrutiny. They are often the only source of information, especially for younger users. At the same time, the triumph of artificial intelligence (AI) is making it increasingly easy to fake content, leading experts to fear large-scale disinformation campaigns. "We do not tolerate AI-generated videos of public figures in which economic or political statements are made, where they promote something or where they support something," emphasized Klaws.

Fear of espionage
For many Western countries, TikTok's proximity to the Chinese leadership makes the company even more suspicious. Security authorities fear data espionage, which both TikTok and the People's Republic have always denied. Nevertheless, the app has been banned or completely prohibited from the cell phones of government officials and civil servants in numerous countries. The latter is also a threat in the USA if the Chinese parent company ByteDance does not sell TikTok within a year. According to insiders, however, ByteDance would prefer to close down TikTok.

In Europe, TikTok is also repeatedly being targeted by investigators. As a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP), the company is subject to stricter regulation. Among other things, it obliges companies to take stronger action against hate and hate speech on the internet.