We have worked to protect the integrity of our platform through more than 200 elections around the world since 2020 alone, including Germany, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Czechia and other European elections already this year, and we are committed to maintaining a civil place for people to express themselves and build community. Today, we're sharing more on how we maintain the platform's integrity during the local elections in Estonia.
Protecting the integrity of our platform
We undertake broad efforts to safeguard TikTok’s integrity during elections. This work is led by our Elections Taskforce, which is made up of experts in cybersecurity, deceptive activities, misinformation, and election integrity. The Taskforce spearheads our efforts to protect our platform using both advanced moderation technology and human moderation, and works in parallel with local moderators. They continue to diligently protect our community to help ensure people can safely express themselves on topics that matter to them, applying a variety of measures to enforce the policies laid out in our global election integrity hub.
We actively cooperate with relevant authorities around elections, including local Digital Service Coordinator (Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority), providing them with dedicated channels through which they can report content they believe may violate either our Community Guidelines or applicable laws.
Connecting users to authoritative information
On September 24, we launched an in-app notice for users in Estonia that provides educational resources about the upcoming election, including links to authoritative resources from the local elections office and our local fact-checking partner, Lead Stories.
This is part of the wider work we do to empower people with authoritative information on TikTok and give them important context about content and accounts. We also label state-affiliated media accounts, provide verified badges for accounts to signal they're authentic, and require creators to label realistic AI-generated content while providing tools to make this easy to do.
Combating harmful misinformation
We protect our community by enforcing firm policies against harmful misinformation and attempts to deceive our community. To do that, we invest in advanced moderation technologies and thousands of safety professionals who work together to protect our community, including with our Elections Taskforce focused on Estonia.
We prohibit harmful misinformation and may label unverified content, make it ineligible for recommendation, and prompt people to reconsider before sharing. We work with more than 20 fact-checking organizations globally to assess the accuracy of content so that our teams can apply those policies accurately, including LeadStories, our fact-checking partner for Estonia.
Deterring deceptive activity
We are highly vigilant against attempts to undermine authentic interactions on TikTok, and have teams who work full-time to disrupt deceptive behaviors.
We prohibit "covert influence operations," where networks of accounts misleadingly work together in an attempt to influence public discussion on important social issues, and we report these network disruptions in our Transparency Center. We also prohibit impersonation or attempts to artificially boost content through fake engagement like bot networks.
Preventing misleading AI-generated content
To protect viewers from being misled, we require creators to label realistic AI-generated content (AIGC) and have consistently been industry leaders in adopting new AI labeling tools and technologies—including a labeling toggle for creators, and C2PA Content Credentials that enables us to identify AIGC made on other platforms.
Harmful AIGC is not allowed, even if labeled. That includes AIGC that falsely depicts public figures making an endorsement, being endorsed, or being bullied or harassed.
Prohibiting Paid Ads
As an entertainment platform, we've long prohibited paid political advertising on TikTok because we don't believe it's conducive to authentic, creative TikTok experiences. Accounts belonging to governments, politicians or political parties ("GPPPAs") are not allowed to use advertising or monetization features, and are subject to additional dedicated rules given the public interest role play they play in civic processes.
Importantly, candidates, political parties, and any other advertisers remain prohibited from promoting election-related content through ads. The only exception is for official entities overseeing elections — such as Electoral Management Bodies—who may run ads strictly limited to essential voter information (e.g., how to vote, voter registration, or participation details).
These policies apply across all of our monetization features, including paid ads, creators being compensated for making branded content, including undisclosed advertisements, and the use of other promotional tools on the platform. All advertisers must comply with our Terms of Service, Community Guidelines, and all policies found in our Business Help Center governing the use of our services.
We are constantly working to maintain the integrity of our platform, especially during elections. In Estonia, we'll continue to invest to stay ahead of potential threats while continuing to make it easy to find reliable sources of information for those engaging with election content on our app.