TikTok Strengthens Resources to Help Filipinos Make Informed Decisions During the 2022 Philippine Elections

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●      TikTok and Commission on Elections (COMELEC) join forces to guide local users on accessing credible election information

●       TikTok also partners with GMA News and Public Affairs to educate Filipinos to discern between mis- and disinformation in the lead up to the 2022 Philippine Elections

Manila, Philippines - March 2, 2022 - TikTok, a leading destination for short-form mobile video, today announced its partnerships with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and GMA News and Public Affairs to provide access to authoritative election information ahead of the Philippines 2022 elections. These important partnerships support TikTok's commitment to protect the integrity of its platform and combat election misinformation.

"At TikTok, our top priority is to ensure that users are able to consume authentic and verified information on our platform. To strengthen this commitment, this partnership with COMELEC and GMA News and Public Affairs will provide Filipinos credible, fact-based content and recognise mis- and disinformation. Through our 2022 Philippine Election Guide we also hope to provide Filipino voters with easy access to credible information about the elections process and make informed choices," said Kristoffer Rada, TikTok Head of Policy, the Philippines.

TikTok and COMELEC Extends Partnership

The partnership between TikTok and COMELEC kicked off last year, with the #RightInformationThisElection campaign, providing users with easy access to reliable and authoritative election information, including how to vote. This year, TikTok extends its partnership with COMELEC through a dedicated on-platform election microsite. In addition to the removal of violative content, the 2022 Philippine Election Guide banner found on the Discover page will house a repository of accurate and reliable videos via the verified COMELEC TikTok account, to provide Filipinos with the information they need to take part in elections. We have also included leading global news agency, Agence France-Presse, to help verify harmful misinformation so that it can be removed from our platform.

TikTok and GMA News and Public Affairs Launches its #eLeksyonSerye campaign

TikTok has also teamed up with GMA News and Public Affairs, one of the country’s foremost organizations for the coverage of the 2022 elections, joining 50 other partners comprised of the most respected names in the fields of telecommunications, media, education, business, law, and public service in the country, all of which have pledged their support to keep a close watch on the electoral process and help voters make informed decisions on Election Day.

The partnership enables GMA News and Public Affairs to take on a new approach in educating Filipino voters, beginning with the #eLeksyonSerye campaign, which officially begins on March 1, 2022. The campaign will feature a series of informative content leading up to the elections, including an interactive Online E-Leksyon Quiz that helps people determine how well they know their voter rights and responsibilities, and the country’s political system.  The E-Leksyon Quiz will also feature pillars and senior reporters from the GMA News and Public Affairs team, who will pose multiple choice questions to their followers on TikTok. Viewers will have 3 seconds to answer each question, and their final score at the end of the quiz will show users whether or not they are #Eleksyon2022-ready.

TikTok's mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy, and it is in that spirit that it has chosen not to allow political advertising. This has been the platform's position since October 2019. Any paid ads that come onto the platform must fit the standards that TikTok has set, and the nature of paid political ads is not something the platform believes fits its experience. More specifically and as outlined in TikTok's advertising policy, it does not permit ads for the promotion, reference, or opposition of: a candidate for public office, a current or former political leader, political party, or political organization, content that advocates a stance (for or against) on a local, state, or federal issue of public importance in order to influence a political decision or outcome.

To learn more about the upcoming elections, visit https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSenwpbuM/ on TikTok today! Download the app on your iOS and Android devices to get started.

 

Earth Warriors Use TikTok to Raise Awareness on Pressing Environmental Matters

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Manila, Philippines – April 29, 2021 –  As an easy-to-use platform for creative expression TikTok gives users an opportunity to shine a light on their advocacies through content that is both informative and entertaining. With this, creators are able to keep others informed on issues that they are passionate about. One pressing topic that has been creating buzz on TikTok is the preservation and protection of the environment. 

In celebration of Earth Month, which takes place in April of every year, highlighted by Earth Day on April 22nd, TikTok reinforces its continued commitment to boost awareness around environmental issues, and educate communities on sustainability, in a way that will resonate with many people around the world. This will be done through a communications campaign that aims to encourage sustainability-led conversations and trends on the platform and highlight local creators and content that are driven towards this cause. 

Anyone looking for ideas on how to better care for the environment can already find a lot of inspiration on TikTok. These videos are a great place to start.

Start with one thing

In this video, environmental advocate Antoinette Taus shares simple ways to make a difference and do your part for the Earth. As an actress and singer who has spent much of her life in the spotlight, she uses her popularity to promote environmental awareness and has even founded a non-profit organization that fosters action for sustainable development.

Take on a recycling project

It isn’t always possible to refuse single-use plastics, so instead of throwing them away why not repurpose them and give them a new life? Here’s an easy-to-follow tutorial for how to turn a plastic bottle into a night light.

Learn about deforestation

Through Treeforestation, a project by students of De La Salle University, you can learn about how deforestation affects the environment, as well as our lives. The campaign project also helps people understand what can be done to address this issue.

Dispose of trash properly

The simple act of disposing trash properly can make a difference in the environment. This video includes a quick tutorial for how to fold trash to make it more compact, and easier to keep in your pocket or bag until you have access to a trash bin.

Discover more content about saving the Earth on TikTok, and do your part to help the world heal! Download the app on your iOS and Android devices to get started.

TikTok Enhances Privacy with New Family Pairing Options

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This latest update provides parents with the industry's most comprehensive suite of options to better guide their teen's online experience

TikTok, the leading destination for short-form mobile videos, is enhancing privacy and browsing options for families on the app by building on its existing Family Pairing features. 

As more families continue to turn to internet platforms like TikTok to stay entertained, informed, and connected, parents now have the option to manage their teen's online experience by linking their TikTok account to their teen's, and setting discoverability and safety controls. Developed for parents, this suite of new features is intended to jumpstart digital wellbeing and online safety education for families.

The new features include:

Search: This allows parents to directly control whether a teen can search for content, users, hashtags, or sounds on the app. 

Comments: Parents may decide who can leave comments on a teen's videos - Either all users, friends only, or no one.

Discoverability: This lets you regulate whether your teen's account is private or public. With a private account, your teen can choose who can see their content. When the account is set to public, anyone can search for your teen’s profile, and view their content. 

Liked videos: Here, you decide who can view the videos your teen liked.

"Parenting a teen's digital life can be daunting and many parents feel as though they're playing catch-up when it comes to the latest technology and apps their teens use. Working with our community and industry partners, we are committed to helping facilitate important conversations within families about internet safety," said Arjun Narayan, Director Trust & Safety, TikTok, Asia Pacific. "Family Pairing was developed to help parents build upon their online safety education and define the experience that is best for their families."

Family Pairing, which allows a parent to link their TikTok account to their teen's, already offers features such as Screen Time Management, Restricted Mode, and Direct Message regulation to provide parents with insight and control over how their teens use TikTok.

Over the past year, TikTok has taken steps to improve and enhance its teams, policies, controls and educational resources. Along with its tools for families, the platform continues to strengthen its youth safety and well-being policies. Just recently, TikTok added more guidelines and resources to support body positivity within the community, and remove harmful content such as hateful ideologies. Sending of images or videos in comments or messages is also not allowed on TikTok, because studies have linked the spread of child sexual abuse material to messaging on apps, especially those with encryption.

TikTok has developed global partnerships to protect against child exploitation and to remove such content, terminate accounts, and report cases to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and local law enforcement agencies. Protecting minors – online and offline – is highly important and requires collaboration between platforms, governments, and child safety organizations. This is why TikTok supports the implementation of the Voluntary Principles to Counter Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, which offers a framework that can be consistently applied across sectors and services to respond to changing behaviors and protect young people.

For families who want to learn more about online safety, TikTok has created several resources, including its Youth Portal, Parents page, and educational safety videos. TikTok remains committed to the security of its community – especially the youth – and will continue to develop resources, tools, and policies as it aims for the highest level of safety.