During an event in Jakarta, the CEO of the highly popular short video platform has vowed to uphold freedom of expression by refraining from accepting political advertisements.
ikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has promised that the popular video platform will uphold freedom of expression with “serious integrity” by refusing political advertisements, a hard-earned lesson through the company's experience of elections in numerous countries.
“We do not want to […] profit from the election cycle. As a matter of global policy, we do not take any political advertisement dollars,” Chew said on Thursday at The Ritz-Carlton Pacific Place in Jakarta, during a press conference to mark the launch of the TikTok Socio-Economic Impact Report 2023.
Acknowledging that social media platforms had become popular forums for expressing and discussing political ideas, Chew vowed that TikTok would be proactive and dedicated to preserving its integrity as a platform for expression by providing an “election hub”.
Speaking at the same event, Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said he welcomed TikTok’s investment and business in Indonesia while delivering a firm message: "Make good business in return, but do not enter politics, please!"
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According to Chew, TikTok’s “election hub” aims at “identifying and removing hate speech and harmful misinformation while at the same time, preserving the freedom of expression”.
Teresa Tan, head of global public policy at TikTok Southeast Asia, elaborated that the company would collaborate closely with election authorities to ensure its election hub was accessible to users and provided targeted information, especially during the critical phase of the election cycle.
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