TikTok is facing internal debates about how to handle political discourse on its platform, as some employees argue that political posts could be good for business while others worry they may harm TikTok’s reputation. The company has a longstanding ban on political ads, but some leaders within the company have suggested relaxing this ban to increase revenue. A working group called Project Core has been considering changes to how TikTok handles political content, including partnering with authoritative news publications to boost their distribution on the platform. However, opponents are concerned about how partners would be selected and have suggested looking into Facebook’s history with political publishers before moving forward.
The debate within TikTok also extends to how the platform handles ads related to politically sensitive topics. While TikTok prohibits ads that explicitly support a specific candidate, party, or platform, it does allow ads about topics such as abortion or war victims as long as they do not violate other company policies. The platform has also relaxed its policies on ads depicting victims of war to allow for humanitarian campaigns. Some ads related to the Israel-Palestine conflict have run on TikTok, targeting voters in communities like Dearborn, Michigan.
TikTok’s approach to political content has evolved over the years, with the company facing criticism for censoring posts about sensitive topics in the past. In 2022, it was revealed that the Chinese government had run a campaign on TikTok targeting U.S. lawmakers in the lead-up to the midterm elections. The company’s top lobbyist initially downplayed concerns about TikTok influencing political behavior, but with the introduction of a new bill targeting TikTok in Congress, the company’s public policy team launched a campaign urging users to oppose the bill. Despite efforts to sway public opinion, the bill ultimately passed, requiring TikTok to sell the app or face a ban.
The future of TikTok’s political ads ban remains uncertain, with Trump’s opposition to the law targeting the app potentially complicating its implementation. Unless a court invalidates the law, Apple and Google will be required to remove TikTok from their app stores or face fines starting in January. While a Trump administration may choose not to enforce the fines, a subsequent administration could still decide to do so, potentially resulting in significant penalties for the tech giants. The internal debate at TikTok about political content and ads reflects larger concerns about the platform’s role in shaping public discourse and its impact on users and society as a whole.
