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TikTok: US political accounts to be verified, campaign fundraising banned

The social platform says it will verify politician and political party accounts, ban fundraising videos
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Posted at 5:54 PM, Sep 21, 2022
and last updated 2022-09-21 19:54:07-04

Social platform TikTok says it will require U.S. government department accounts to be verified. Accounts for politicians and political parties will be required to be verified as well.

TikTok says videos that are targeted toward voters and others, aimed at campaign fundraising, will be banned on the short-form video app, the companyannounced on Wednesday.

The social company's "mandatory verification" for political accounts could affect engagement with political content before the 2022 midterm elections.

The ban on political fundraising ads will activate in the coming weeks and will have a big impact on the political monetization of the app. Political parties and politicians will not be allowed to request donations from users on the app under the ban, TikTok claims.

Blake Chandlee, president of global business solutions at TikTok, said in a statement, "Specifically, they will not have access to features like gifting, tipping, and e-commerce, and will be ineligible for our Creator Fund."

While TikTok already bans political advertising in its terms of service, the platform says it will further enforce this by removing access to advertising tools from accounts that belong to politicians and political parties.