TikTok to work against disinformation in election

TikTok has assured the Election Commission (EC) that it will take maximum precaution to prevent any misleading information or manipulation ahead of the upcoming 13th National Election.

Following a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) A M M Nasir Uddin at the EC headquarters on Wednesday, November 26, TikTok’s Head of Public Policy and Government Relations for South Asia, Ferdous Muttakim, shared the update.

Ferdous Muttakim said that TikTok’s multinational expert team has already enhanced monitoring measures to prevent misuse of the platform during the election period. “Our intention was to reassure the Election Commission that TikTok will not allow any disruption to the electoral process,” he said.

During the meeting, TikTok presented its existing safety mechanisms, disinformation mitigation policies and plans for ongoing and future cooperation with the EC. The platform stated that, as part of maintaining content integrity, around 16.3 million videos were removed from Bangladesh in the second quarter of 2024.

The delegation added that ensuring a safe online environment around the election requires joint efforts from the EC, media and technology platforms.

Nine representatives from TikTok, four Election Commissioners and senior EC officials attended the meeting.