The social media app plans to work with local electoral commissions to provide ‘trusted and authoritative information’ ahead of 2024 European elections.
TikTok has shared details on a new in-app initiative to help users get factual information during 2024 elections across the EU.
The social media app said it will launch an Election Centre in its app next month for each of the 27 EU member states. TikTok said it will work with local electoral commissions and civil society organisations to provide “trusted and authoritative information” for users.
“This initiative is just one element of a wider strategy to ensure that TikTok remains a creative, safe, and civil place for our community during the election period,” said Kevin Morgan, TikTok’s head of safety and integrity for the EMEA.
Morgan said videos that are related to European elections will be labelled to direct users to their relevant Election Centre. The app will also issue reminders to certain hashtags to encourage users to “follow our rules, verify facts, and report content they believe violates our Community Guidelines”.
TikTok said it will also establish a dedicated “mission control” space in its Dublin office ahead of EU elections to “maximise the effectiveness of our work in the run-up to – and during – the elections”.
The company said it already works with nine fact-checking organisations in Europe who assess the accuracy of content in 18 European languages. TikTok also claims to have more than 6,000 people “dedicated to moderating EU language content”.
Some of the measures the social media app claims to conduct include deterring operations that attempt covert influence during elections and tackling the spread of misleading AI-generated content. An AI-generated voice of US president Joe Biden has been causing disruptions in the US through fraudulent calls that urge people not to vote.
But while TikTok is sharing efforts to prevent election disinformation and upgrade its data security practices in Europe, the company is also challenging aspects of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). Meta and TikTok are currently challenging fees they must pay EU regulators tasked with enforcing DSA moderation rules, The Verge reports.
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