TikTok on high alert, aggressively removing 'violative' content

Following reports of a number of posts warning about a possible repeat of the deadly May 13, 1969 race riots on TikTok, the social media platform said they are on high alert and have removed videos in violation of their community guidelines.

“At TikTok, we have zero tolerance against any form of hate speech and violent extremism.

“As it was related to May 13 content, we quickly removed videos that were in violation of our community guidelines.

“We continue to be on high alert and will aggressively remove any ‘violative’ content, including video, audio, livestream, images, comments, links, or other text,” TikTok said in a statement to Malaysiakini today.

They reminded the public that users can report harmful content on the platform using the in-app reporting function, which is to press and hold on to a video - to access a prompt to report it.

TikTok also said, in the lead-up to the 15th general election, they have been in constant communication with the relevant bodies, including the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) about accounts involved in “severe or repeated on-platform violations”.

However, it did not respond to Malaysiakini’s queries regarding a netizen who complained that reports against May 13-related hate speech on TikTok came back with the “no violation” status on the platform.

In the last 48 hours after polling day, videos warning about a possible repeat of the May 13 riots had accumulated over several hundred thousand views.

The videos or their creators had no identifiable links to one another but they propagated a similar narrative targeted at Malay-Muslim viewers, alleging political dominance by DAP if the party is allowed to be a part of any government.

Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani had also warned social media users not to misuse their platforms to spread provocative content that could lead to public unrest.

The MCMC had also advised the public to maintain decorum online and stay away from expressing views that can incite racial and religious hate.

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