What you need to know
- TikTok is taking down videos of Trump's speech from yesterday that incited rioting at the U.S. Capitol.
- It will also remove accounts that glorify the violence.
As reported by TechCrunch, TikTok is joining Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat in taking action against President Trump and his supporters who broke into the United States Capitol. While this President does not have a presence on teh platform, TikTok told TechCrunch that it is actively pulling down yesterday's speech to supporters. They are also redirecting common hashtags used by rioters like #stormthecapitol and #patriotparty in order to limit their visibility.
The company says that the content is being removed because it violates its misinformation policy and its content could "cause harm to individuals, their community or the larger public."
TikTok says that Trump's speeches, where the President again reiterated claims of a fraudulent election, are being removed on the grounds that they violate the company's misinformation policy. That policy defines misinformation as content that is inaccurate or false. And it explains that while TikTok encourages people to have respectful conversations on subjects that matter to them, it doesn't permit misinformation that can cause harm to individuals, their community or the larger public.
The app will allow users, however, to use the green screen effect to speak out against the actions taken by rioters at the Capitol.
However, TikTok says it will allow what it calls "counter speech" against the Trump videos. This is a form of speech that's often used to fight misinformation, where the creator presents the factual information or disputes the claims being made in another video. TikTok in November had allowed counter speech in response to claims from Trump supporters that the election was "rigged," even while it blocked top hashtags that were used to promote these ideas.
A spokesperson for TikTok says that the company will also remove any account found to glorify the violence.
"Hateful behavior and violence have no place on TikTok ... Content or accounts that seek to incite, glorify, or promote violence violate our Community Guidelines and will be removed."
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