TikTok's Commitment to Preventing Violent Extremism

TikTok is firmly against enabling violent extremism on or off their platform. Their mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy to people, and any attempt to promote violence goes against that mission and their values. To further strengthen their commitment to user safety and human rights, they are pleased to announce their membership with Tech Against Terrorism and their efforts to increase transparency in protecting their community from violent extremism.

At TikTok, they believe that collaboration is crucial in addressing today's most pressing challenges, including violent extremism. They are proud to be members of Tech Against Terrorism, an organization that brings together technology companies, civil society, and academics with the shared goal of countering violent extremism. By joining forces with others in the industry, they demonstrate their desire to engage responsibly with the wider community of experts. Their aim is to help eradicate terrorist content online and share their learnings with others along the way.

Joining Tech Against Terrorism means that they have earned their Trustmark, which serves as proof that they meet the membership requirements. These requirements include commitments to exploring new technical solutions and collaborating with civil society to combat violent extremism. The Trustmark also showcases their strict policies and enforcement against violent extremism, as well as their dedication to human rights and transparency. For example, they regularly publish Community Guidelines Enforcement Reports that provide visibility into the content and accounts removed for violating their policies. Additionally, they have recently announced plans to provide researchers with API access to study the TikTok platform and moderation system.

Ensuring people's safety is an ongoing endeavor. Through their membership, they are eager to continue learning from others as they strive to meet and exceed best practices in tackling this issue. It will also grant them access to training and detection resources that will help them effectively respond to such content and actors.

TikTok maintains a zero-tolerance approach to violent extremism. They do not allow individuals or groups to use their platform to threaten or incite violence, or to promote violent extremist organizations, individuals, or acts. To enforce this policy, they employ a combination of technology, safety and security professionals, and threat detection partners. If an account attempts to promote or glorify off-platform violence or poses a threat to public safety, they ban the account. When necessary, they report threats to relevant legal authorities. They may also consider off-platform behavior to identify violent extremist organizations and individuals and take action against their accounts. Additionally, their trust and safety teams collaborate with local experts and civil society organizations to understand the unique cultures and experiences of communities affected by violent extremism. They take into account publicly available information from experts, including the United Nations Security Council and Southern Poverty Law Center, to identify dangerous or hateful individuals and organizations. Their goal is to prevent their platform from being used to perpetrate harm. Currently, less than 1% of the total removed videos violate their policy on violent extremism. Nevertheless, they will continue working towards their part in helping eradicate this type of content online and offline.