Chinese app TikTok will censor content about the November elections

Recently, Pew Research Center has asked young people which social networks they use. In 2014-1015 the winner was clear: Facebook. But Mark Zuckerberg's creation is becoming irrelevant among young people: it has gone from being used by 71% of young people down to 32%.

60 million voters

Eight years ago, TikTok did not exist (it was created in 2016), and today it is the second most used social network, with two thirds of young people (67%) having an account. The most used is YouTube.

According to Comscore data cited by Wallaroomedia, one-third of TikTok users in the United States (32.5%) are 19 years old or younger. That means that just over the remaining 67.5% who are 20 years of age or older can vote (the legal age is 18). Given that Tik Tok has 80 million users in the United States alone, we are talking about almost 60 million voting users.

"Harmful misinformation"

What's new is that TikTok is gearing up for the midterm elections. Like Twitter, the Chinese app says it will fight disinformation. "We work hard to keep harmful misinformation and other violations of our policies off our platform." However, what the Chinese app considers "harmful misinformation" is what remains to be seen.

On the one hand, TikTok, based in the Chinese dictatorship, will teach users to think critically about certain issues. On the other hand, the app itself will do the job of criticizing certain types of content by assigning tags to them.

They are not alone in censoring content. According to the social network, it is supported by 30 verification agencies. Like Twitter, TikTok will offer information about how to go to each location to vote, in an app called Election Center.