On Sunday, TikTok announced that it swiftly deployed resources and staff to combat hate speech and misinformation that arose in the wake of the attack by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Israel.
An illustration depicts a TikTok logo on a smartphone, as of January 6, 2020.
The European Union’s industry chief, Thierry Breton, had given TikTok a 24-hour ultimatum to provide a comprehensive account of the actions taken to address the dissemination of disinformation regarding the Middle East conflict. Additionally, he initiated an investigation into Elon Musk’s X.
In a statement, TikTok outlined the measures it had implemented but did not specify its exact response to Breton.
“TikTok strongly condemns terrorism. We are deeply disturbed by the tragic acts of terror that occurred in Israel last week. We are also profoundly saddened by the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” TikTok stated.
TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, stated that its actions comprised establishing a command center, improving its automated detection systems to eliminate graphic and violent material, and increasing the number of Arabic and Hebrew-speaking moderators.
Furthermore, TikTok was eliminating content that targets or ridicules victims of violence, as well as content that encourages violence. The platform had imposed stricter eligibility criteria for its live broadcast feature and was collaborating with law enforcement agencies and seeking guidance from experts.
