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TikTok Bans Russian Accounts to Curb Election Interference 

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TikTok has banned Russian accounts of some state media entities, for allegedly trying to secretly influence the US election.

TikTok has banned Russian accounts of some state media entities, for allegedly trying to secretly influence the US election. This action was taken to stop the spread of disinformation across the world. 

The move is part of the platform’s broader effort to prevent misinformation ahead of the upcoming US presidential election this November.  

The banned Russian accounts are owned by the media group Rossiya Segodnya, which operates news outlets such as RIA Novosti and Sputnik, and a parent company, TV-Novosti, for RT, a popular Russian news channel.  

In a statement on its website, the social media platform said “Previously, these accounts were restricted in the EU and UK. Globally, under our state-affiliated media policy, their content was also ineligible for the For You feed to limit attempts to influence foreign audiences on topics of global events and affairs, and their accounts were labeled as state-controlled media to provide important context about the source of the content.” 

https://twitter.com/rt_com/status/1837703367797186616?s=46

Following the Same Steps 

This move by TikTok follows similar actions recently taken by other platforms. Last week, Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, banned Rossiya Segodnya and RT for what the company called “foreign interference activity.” This is interpreted as a move to protect information integrity in advance of key elections from any influence that could be made by such Russian accounts. 

RT, whose license to broadcast in the UK was lost in March 2022, “censoring information flow to the rest of the world” by US companies, the news broadcast company told Sky News.  

For its part, the Kremlin took the same stance as RT, stating that also Meta “discredits itself” with such blocking of Russian accounts. 

Despite these criticisms, the video sharing platform hasn’t issued further comments yet to elaborate on its decision. The ban comes amid intensifying pressure put on the social media platforms to do more about disinformation, especially after the accusations of Russia’s interference in the 2016 US presidential election. 

The move by the Chinese company comes after the US government took various measures to crack down on disinformation campaigns. Early this month, US officials filed charges against two RT employees, alleging that they had tried to hire an American company to create online content to influence the 2024 US election. 

Abiding By to Avoid Suspensions 

In a related but separate development, back in July, the US Department of Justice took down nearly 1,000 social media bot accounts it said were being used to push Russian disinformation. 

However, TikTok itself has come under scrutiny in the US. There have been concerns over the app’s links to China, which raised concerns about data security. US lawmakers are pushing for legislation that could ban TikTok altogether amid suspicions it may share data with the Chinese government. 

TikTok’s actions recently shows that it is doing all it takes to avoid being banned in the US, by taking actions that abide by the US laws and regulations, mainly those that are related to security matters.

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