The TikTok social network of the Chinese company ByteDance is engaged in the shadow promotion of the content of Russian propagandists despite its ban, which the company itself reported on May 6.
Wired writes about this with reference to research by the non-profit organization Tracking Exposed.
The social network suspended the publication of new content for users from Russia after the Russian Federation passed a "fake law" to hide true information about the war against Ukraine. Despite this, the platform allows propagandists to upload new videos even after May.
Tracking Exposed specialists "sat" in TikTok from May to July through VPN services from Russian IP addresses. It turned out that if users who, for example, follow the Sputnik account, continue to see new content from the specified propagandists in their feed. At the same time, new videos are not displayed in the profile of this account. But if you follow the BBC from Russian IP addresses, then there is no access to new content. Itʼs the same story with great entertainment and information resources.
When asked by journalists to explain the situation, the representative of TikTok, Jamie Favazza, said that the policy regarding the provision of services in Russia "has not changed."
- On March 6, TikTok said it would stop live streaming and video uploads to its platform in Russia in accordance with Russian law, but US senators stated TikTok failed to "fully enforce this."
- In June, US senators demanded an explanation from TikTok regarding Russian propaganda content.