TikTok Commits To Updating Its Branded Content Policies Following Pressure From The European Commission
Source: TikTok
TikTok is making updates to its branded content policies. After more than a year of dialogue with the European Commission and other authorities around consumer protection, TikTok has committed to making several updates to its branded content policies.
Some of the key commitments TikTok has made are:
Allowing users to report ads and offers that could trick children into making purchases
Prohibiting the promotion of inappropriate products and services such as alcohol, "get rich quick" schemes, and cigarettes
Reviewing branded content videos by creators with more than 10,000 followers
Prompting creators to switch on the Branded Content Toggle when they add disclosures such as #AD or #Sponsored in the caption of their videos
Allowing users to report undisclosed branded content
In its response, the European Commission said it was satisfied with TikTok's commitment to improving transparency for branded content but remains wary of its impact since it feels TikTok didn't address its biggest concern, the targeting of children with personalized ads.
Even though TikTok's commitments aren't precisely what the European Commission was looking for, they should add more protection for consumers. For example, the Branded Content Toggle prompt and restrictions on branded content for certain categories have already been in place for some time. These have helped to encourage more creators to disclose branded content and discourage alcohol and cigarette brands from utilizing influencers to get in front of younger users on the app.
Other commitments like letting users report undisclosed branded content could further ensure that creators are properly disclosing content that is produced as part of a brand partnership. To me, this is one of the biggest areas of opportunities that platforms have failed to address. As I’ve previously written, it’s been quite surprising that this doesn’t exist, especially since users can already report content that believes violate copyright or platform guidelines. TikTok is the first to implement it, but it likely won’t be the last as more platforms face scrutiny from governance bodies that call on platforms to take more action.
