TikTok Swiftly Responds to Combat Hate and Misinformation Following Recent Events
In the wake of the recent conflict between the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Israel, TikTok announced on Sunday that it had immediately marshaled resources and personnel to address issues related to hate speech and misinformation on its platform.
The move came in response to a demand from the European Union’s industry chief, Thierry Breton, who gave TikTok a 24-hour ultimatum to provide details about its measures to counter disinformation associated with the Middle East conflict. In addition to this, Breton initiated an investigation into Elon Musk’s company, X.
TikTok released a statement outlining the steps it had taken, although it did not divulge the specifics of its response to Breton’s request.
The statement from TikTok expressed a strong stance against terrorism, stating, “TikTok stands against terrorism. We are shocked and appalled by the horrific acts of terror in Israel last week. We are also deeply saddened by the intensifying humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza.”
The actions taken by TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, included the establishment of a command center, enhancements to its automated detection systems to promptly remove graphic and violent content, and an increase in the number of Arabic and Hebrew-speaking moderators. The platform also committed to removing content that targets or ridicules victims of violence or incites further violence, imposed stricter criteria for eligibility to use its live broadcast feature, and pledged cooperation with law enforcement agencies and engagement with experts
