Trump doesn't have a TikTok account for obvious reasons. But the President's speeches helped provoke the crowd that invaded the U.S. yesterday. Capitol is not going to have a home on TikTok's site. The company has confirmed to TechCrunch its content policy on the Capitol protests, which will see the removal of videos from Trump's speeches to supporters. It will also redirect unique hashtags used by rioters, such as #stormthecapitol and #patriotparty, to reduce the exposure of their content in the app.
TikTok states that Trump's addresses, in which the president repeated allegations of a rigged election, are being withdrawn on the grounds that they violate the company's disinformation policy. That policy describes misinformation as incorrect or false content. And it explains that while TikTok allows people to have respectful discussions about subjects that matter to them, it does not accept misinformation that could hurt individuals, their societies or the general public.
A rioting crowd aimed at halting democratic processes in the United States seems to fit well into that agenda.
However, TikTok says that it will allow the so-called "counter speech" against Trump's videos. This is a type of speech that is frequently used to refute disinformation when the author provides truthful facts or contradicts statements made in another video. In November, TikTok had allowed counter-proposals in response to Trump's supporters' arguments that the election was "rigged" even though blocking top hashtags that were used to spread these ideas.
In the case of Trump's speech, TikTok would encourage the user, for example, to use the green screen effect to comment on the speech—unless those comments endorse riots.
In addition, TikTok makes it possible to hold some footage of the abuse that took place in the Capitol. For example, if a video opposes violence or originates from a news agency, it will be able to do so. TikTok is also extending its newly introduced opt-in viewing screens to "newsworthy" content that could depict graphic violence.
These displays, revealed in December, appear on the top of the videos that some viewers may find graphic or distressing. Videos with screens applied for are already valid for the main "For You" feed of TikTok, but may not be prohibited. When a viewer sees a computer, they can just tap a button to skip a video, or they can choose to "watch" anyway (It could not provide any example of the screens in use, however.)
Anecdotally, we saw videos showing the woman who was shot and killed yesterday appearing on TikTok and then vanishing quickly. But the ones we came across were from individual users, not news organizations. They weren't even condemning the riot, either—they were just direct video footage. It's not clear if the particular videos we've seen are those that TikTok itself blocked, or if the user decides to delete them instead.
Separately from graphic content, TikTok notes that it will delete videos that aim to provoke, glorify or encourage violence, as they also violate its Community Guidelines. In these situations, the videos will be deleted as defined by TikTok—either by automation or user reporting.
And, as in November, TikTok is proactively blocking hashtags to reduce the exposure of the content. It is also blocking tags such as #stormthecapitol and #patriotparty, among others, and redirects these questions to its Community Guidelines. Currently, there are redirects through hundreds of combinations of these hashtags and others. In order to protect its safeguards, the organization does not disclose the full list, it says.
TikTok had previously blocked tags like #stopthesteal and #QAnon in a similar constructive way.
It should be noted that all Twitter postures about security and moderation encouraged Trump to go back to his app after a few key tweets had been deleted. And it also has to block hashtags associated with false statements, including #stopthesteal, which is still operating today. Facebook, on the other hand, has suspended Trump from Facebook and Instagram for at least two weeks. Like TikTok, the #stopthesteal and #sharpiegate hashtags had previously been blocked with a warning about its Community Expectations. (Today, some searches go wrong with messages that say, "This page isn't available right now," we noticed.)
TikTok's content-moderation measures have been reasonably robust relative to other social networks, as they routinely hide, downgrade and delete user messages. But it has also been accused of "censorship" by some who feel that newsworthy material is too violent.
This has led users to find increasingly inventive ways to avoid their videos from being banned—such as mispelling, coded language, or clever editing to bypass TikTok policies. At other times, developers would just give up and direct viewers to their Instagram, where their contents are backed up and less policed.
"Hateful behavior and violence have no place in TikTok," the TikTok spokesperson told TechCrunch when he asked for a comment on the Capitol events. "Content or accounts that seek to incite, glorify or promote violence violate our Community Guidelines and will be deleted," they added.
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