TikTok Wants You to Pause Before Watching State-Controlled Media

TikTok is now labeling state-affiliated media in more than 40 new markets, including the US, Canada and much of Europe, the social media company said Wednesday. It’s an extension of a pilot program run in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine in 2022.

TikTok said its policy is to label accounts “whose editorial output or decision-making process is subject to control or influence by a government.” The policy will be expanded even further at a later date, the company said. Accounts labeled as state affiliated will have an opportunity to appeal.

When users scroll to a video from an account with TikTok’s state-controlled label, they’ll get a pop-up disclaimer advising them to pause and consider whether the content is pushing an agenda favorable to a government. 

TikTok says it partners with independent experts to identify which accounts should be considered controlled by governments, and considers a variety of factors like the publication’s mission, funding, staff and leadership, and editorial guidelines when determining whether users should be alerted about the account’s content. Getting funding from governments doesn’t automatically qualify an account for the label, depending on editorial protections.

The move comes as TikTok faces growing scrutiny in the US, with several universities, states and the federal government considering or enacting bans against the app on some devices. 

Here’s the full list of countries that TikTok’s state-affiliated media policy is being expanded to: Afghanistan, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uzbekistan.