{"id":24751,"date":"2021-06-08T05:55:20","date_gmt":"2021-06-08T05:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rbsitsoftwaresolution.com\/blog\/tiktok-called-out-for-lack-of-ads-transparency-and-for-failing-to-police-political-payola.html"},"modified":"2021-06-08T05:55:20","modified_gmt":"2021-06-08T05:55:20","slug":"tiktok-called-out-for-lack-of-ads-transparency-and-for-failing-to-police-political-payola","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rbsitsoftwaresolution.in\/blog\/tiktok-called-out-for-lack-of-ads-transparency-and-for-failing-to-police-political-payola.html","title":{"rendered":"TikTok called out for lack of ads transparency and for failing to police political payola"},"content":{"rendered":"

TikTok announced a ban on political advertising all the way back in 2019<\/a>. So you\u2019d be forgiven for thinking the ugly problem of democracy-denting political disinformation doesn\u2019t apply inside its walled garden of dancing Gen Zers. But you\u2019d be wrong.<\/p>\n

New research by Mozilla suggests that policy loopholes and lax oversight, especially around influencer marketing, coupled with an ongoing lack of ads transparency by TikTok \u2014 which offers no publicly searchable ad archive \u2014 are making its video-sharing platform vulnerable to passing off political ads as organic content.<\/p>\n

Mozilla says it found more than a dozen instances of TikTok influencers across the political spectrum who were being paid (or otherwise compensated) by a variety of political organizations to promote partisan messages without disclosing that these posts were sponsored.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur research found that TikTok influencers across the political spectrum had undisclosed paid relationships with various political organizations in the U.S.,\u201d it writes. \u201cSeveral right-wing TikTok influencers appear to be funded by conservative
\norganizations like Turning Point USA, a tax-exempt nonprofit which has a dedicated influencer program specifically targeted at funding young conservative content creators on social media.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Examples of TikTok influencers spreading political messaging (Image Credits:<\/strong> Mozilla)<\/p>\n

It similarly found evidence of left-leaning sponsored political messaging being spread without proper disclosures by TikTok influencers, noting that: \u201cWe found some evidence that progressive influencers supported by left-leaning political organizations were posting pro-Biden messages prior to the U.S. presidential election. For instance, The 99 Problems created and funded the Hype House account House of US, where influencers post political messaging.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the report, \u201cTh\u20acse Are Not Po\u00a3itical Ad$: How Partisan Influencers Are Evading TikTok\u2019s Weak Political Ad Policies\u201d, Mozilla calls out the platform for not offering adequate tools for \u201cinfluencers\u201d \u2014 aka users who have amassed a large enough number of followers to become attractive targets for advertisers to target for making paid postings \u2014 to report sponsorships, pointing out that other major social media platforms (like Facebook\/Instagram) do offer such tools and can flag influencer content if they\u2019re found failing to properly report ads.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, it\u2019s hard to know exactly how self-disclosure ad policies are being enforced across platforms but TikTok is significantly far behind Instagram and YouTube when it comes to providing tools and enacting clear, strict, and transparent policies,\u201d Mozilla writes in the report.<\/p>\n

Per TikTok\u2019s rules, content creators are supposed to self-identify any paid content (typically by using the hashtag #ad or #sponsored), in keeping with U.S. Federal Trade Commission guidelines for the disclosure of paid influence.<\/p>\n

But, as Mozilla points out, if TikTok isn\u2019t actively monitoring or scrutinizing influencer ads (as the report suggests), it raises an obvious concern over how the platform can claim to be enforcing its \u201ctrust and safety\u201d protocols.<\/p>\n

Mozilla\u2019s report also points to rumours that TikTok is testing features that will allow influencers to pay to further promote specific posts \u2014 which could dial up the \u201cdark money\u201d political disinformation problem further, i.e. if not combined with active policing and enforcement of sponsorship disclosures.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere do not appear to be any safeguards preventing creators from using this feature to promote paid political messages,\u201d it warns. \u201cIt is unclear how TikTok is monitoring this content to ensure that it complies with their political ad policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another major criticism in the report is the general lack of ads transparency by TikTok versus other social platforms \u2014 with Mozilla\u2019s report pointing out that it does not offer public, searchable ad databases as others (including Facebook\/Instagram, Snap and Google\/YouTube) do. Twitter has also had a searchable ads archive since 2018<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cMozilla believes Facebook and Google are doing a poor job on ad transparency, so the fact that TikTok<\/span> can\u2019t match even them is troubling,\u201d the report notes.<\/p>\n

In recommendations to TikTok (or to policymakers shaping laws aimed at preventing abuse of such platforms) Mozilla suggests that it needs to develop specific mechanisms for content creators to disclose partnerships; invest in comprehensive advertising transparency, including launching an ad database which includes paid partnerships (not just native platform ads); and update its policies and enforcement processes to cover all the ways that paid political influence can happen on its platform.<\/p>\n

TikTok was contacted with questions on its approach to ads transparency and sponsored content. It sent this statement:<\/p>\n

There are signs that TikTok is trying to get ahead of criticisms in the report \u2014 as Mozilla\u2019s researcher, Becca Ricks, notes that the company has very recently (\u201cwithin the past week\u201d) created a branded content policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt includes mention of a \u2018branded content toggle<\/a>\u2018 to help influencers disclose paid partnerships,\u201d she went on, adding: \u201cWe\u2019re currently analyzing the feature to learn more. But we\u2019re cautiously optimistic that this could be a (small) step in the right direction, especially after we raised these issues directly with TikTok two weeks ago in the course of our research.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/i>That said, Mozilla\u2019s other recommendations \u2014 and the entirety of the problems we uncovered in the research \u2014 remain. So TikTok has a long road to being truly transparent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mozilla\u2019s report is just the latest black cloud to fall over TikTok\u2019s platform, which is under pressure on a variety of fronts related to its content and wider policies, including around ad disclosures.<\/p>\n

Last week<\/a>, EU regulators kicked off what they couched as a formal \u201cdialogue\u201d with TikTok following a number of complaints by consumer protection groups, which have accused the platform of hidden marketing, aggressive advertising techniques targeted at children and misleading and confusing contractual terms.<\/p>\n

Other regional complaints have called out TikTok\u2019s approach to privacy and user data. And it\u2019s being sued in the U.K.<\/a> over its handling of children\u2019s data.<\/p>\n

Concerns over weak age verification also led to an intervention by Italy\u2019s data protection regulator earlier this year \u2014 acting on concerns for the safety of underage users. In that case TikTok was forced to remove more than half a million accounts<\/a> that were suspected of being used by children younger than 13.<\/p>\n

In recent months TikTok has been trying to burnish its image with policymakers, announcing what it bills as a \u201cTransparency Center\u201d in the U.S. last year<\/a> \u2014 and another for Europe this April<\/a> \u2014 saying these centers would provide a space for outside experts to access information about its content moderation and security policies.<\/p>\n

However Mozilla said the centers suffer from a lack transparency vis-\u00e0-vis ads, writing in the report that they \u201cdo not provide detailed transparency regarding advertisements\u201d, and specifying TikTok does not disclose specific data about \u201chow many or which ads were rejected under TikTok\u2019s ban on political advertisements\u201d, for example.<\/p>\n

TikTok\u2019s opacity arounds ads looks to be on borrowed time as the issue of online political ads transparency is coming into sharper focus around the world.<\/p>\n

In the U.S. a bipartisan bill to try to regulate online platforms that sell ads was introduced in 2017<\/a> \u2014 although progress stalled as the bill failed to pass ahead of the 2019 U.S. presidential election.<\/p>\n

In Europe lawmakers are expected to put forward a regulatory proposal<\/a> this fall that will tighten ad disclosure and reporting requirements on platforms as part of a wider package of digital reforms that aim to drive safety, transparency and accountability.<\/p>\n

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EU to review TikTok\u2019s ToS after child safety complaints<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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TikTok removes 500k+ accounts in Italy after DPA order to block underage users<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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TikTok explains its ban on political advertising<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Article source: http:\/\/feedproxy.google.com\/~r\/techcrunch\/social\/~3\/RErrpz_PMPs\/<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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