TikTok says it rejected China’s request for a stealthy propaganda account aimed at Westerners

A Chinese government organization responsible for public relations attempted to open a hidden account on TikTok targeting western audiences with propagateaccording to an internal notice seen by Bloomberg.

The effort has been met with backing from TikTok executives, highlighting internal tensions in the rapidly growing social media app, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Inc. , continuous trying to separate himself from the influence of the Chinese state.

In an April 2020 notice sent to Elizabeth Kanter, TikTok’s head of government relations in the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, and Israel, a colleague flagged “Concerned Chinese government organization interested in joining TikTok but doesn’t want to be made public as a government account because the main purpose is to promote content that shows the best side of China (some kind of propaganda). “

The messages indicated that some of ByteDance’s top-level government relations teams, including Kanter and Erich Andersen, US-based Global Director of Corporate Affairs and General Counsel, were in discussions. internal matter but declined a request they described as “sensitive”. TikTok used the incident to initiate an internal discussion about other sensitive requests, message statuses.

“We declined to provide support for this claim because we believe creating such an account would violate our Community Guidelines,” a TikTok spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said TikTok has rules against “coordinated inauthentic behavior,” in which accounts conceal their true identities to influence or sway public opinion, and to combat advertising. politics.

TikTok allows some Chinese government agencies, including the Chinese embassy in the US, to have verified accounts. The company is planning to expand its state-controlled communications policy, which labels state-run accounts, to include other government entities, the spokesperson added.

Kanter and Andersen declined to comment. The Chinese government did not respond to a request for comment.

Messages emerged in the same week that British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss pledged to crack down on Chinese-owned companies including TikTok in a head-to-head debate with Rishi Sunak as part of their campaign to succeed appoint Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian criticized Truss’ remarks on Monday.

“I want to make it clear to some British politicians that making irresponsible remarks about China, including exaggerating the so-called threat from China, cannot solve our own problems. himself,” Zhao said at a regular news conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

The extent of the Chinese government’s influence over ByteDance is a source of tension for TikTok as it has expanded internationally. In September 2020, the Trump administration accused TikTok of being a Communist Party “mouthpiece” as part of a last-ditch effort to shut down the app in the US if it doesn’t sell to an American owner.

The same month, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said in a report that TikTok often bury or hide words that reflect political movements, including criticisms of Vladimir Putin, as well as hashtags. # in relation to gender and sexual orientation or religion in most countries where it operates. At the time, TikTok adamantly denied that it would cooperate with any request from the Chinese authorities.

A sea of ​​government machinery, state-recognized influencers and hawkish news outlets use social entertainment platforms like Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, Bilibili Inc. and Weibo Corp. to promote propaganda to the young people of China.

Youth League, the Communist Party branch for young members, is among Douyin’s top creators, with around 8 million followers, double that of Taylor Swift.

Douyin, available in local app stores, is operated as a separate entity. Both TikTok and Douyin focus on creating and sharing short-form videos, but Douyin has control over the content to comply with Chinese laws.

The Chinese government wants advice on how to run an account that appeals to a Western audience, and that “they also cover payments,” according to notices released by Bloomberg.