TikTok has signed up to the European Union’s Code of Practice on Disinformation, agreeing to help address the spread of online disinformation and fake news.
The EDiMA trade association, which handles the communications for those signed up to the EU’s Code, announced in a statement that video platform TikTok had officially signed up to the Code.
“TikTok signing up to the Code of Practice on Disinformation is great news as it widens the breadth of online platforms stepping up the fight against disinformation online. It shows that the Code of Practice on Disinformation is an effective means to ensure that companies do more to effectively fight disinformation online,” said Siada El Ramly, EDiMA director general in a statement.
She went on to say that the announcement “shows once again that internet companies take their responsibility seriously and are ready to play their part.”
On another occasion, Theo Bertam, Tiktok’s government of relation and Public Policy Team in Europe spoke: “To prevent the spread of false information online, industry co-operation and transparency are vital, and we’re proud and glad to sign up to the Code of Practice on Disinformation to play our part.”
A report released in May by the European Commission highlighted the positive impact that the Code of Practice on Disinformation has had saying that “it is highly relevant and it has produced positive results”.
However, following an announcement from the Commission earlier this month around the influx of misleading pandemic-related information, platforms have been asked to do more to tackle disinformation. All platforms signed up to the Code of Practice must now provide in-depth monthly reports outlining the countermeasures they are taking to tackle Coronavirus fakes.
Facebook, Google, Twitter and Mozilla were amongst the first to sign the Commission code back in 2018 when the Commission outlined a European approach and self-regulatory tools to tackle disinformation online. They also agreed to help tackle fake accounts and bots, and said they would make political and issue ads more transparent on the platforms.
