Daily Safeguarding Update

Tiktok Admits Limiting Some LGBTQ Hashtags

TikTok has acknowledged that it restricts LGBT-related hashtags in some countries as part of its “localised” approach to moderation
A report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) think-tank said many LGBT hashtags were “shadow-banned” in Bosnia, Jordan and Russia
A shadow ban limits the discovery of content without indicating that a particular hashtag is on a ban list
TikTok said that while some terms were restricted to comply with local laws, others were limited because they were primarily used to discover pornographic content
LGBT rights group Stonewall said social media platforms including TikTok provided a “vital community hub” for LGBT people, “particularly for those living in countries where they can face persecution for being themselves”

Hackers with ties to Russia, China and Iran are attempting to snoop on people and groups involved with the US 2020 presidential election Microsoft says
The Russian hackers who allegedly breached the 2016 Democratic campaign are again involved, said the tech firm
Microsoft said it was “clear that foreign activity groups have stepped up their efforts” targeting the election and are those involved in the 2016 election
Both President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden’s campaigns are in the cyber-raiders’ sights as well as British political parties

Google and Twitter have said they are clamping down further on misinformation online ahead of the US elections
Messaging platforms expect a flood of false claims and misleading posts ahead of the November vote
Twitter said it plans to more aggressively label and remove election-related tweets that are inaccurate
Search engine Google said it would screen more auto-complete results to avoid voters being misled, particularly over reports claiming an early victory
One of the concerns is that the widespread use of mail ballots in the US election due to the coronavirus pandemic could cause significant delays in tallying results. Experts fear this could allow misinformation to gain traction

TikTok has started directly paying its creators in the United Kingdom for the first time. Copying YouTube and Instagram, it has made a fund of £54 million available to share among its top content makers in Europe
Previously, users only made money with live-streaming or brand partnerships
A similar fund was launched in the United States last month, with the amount given to creators expected to be close to $1 billion over the next three years
London based comedian, Sherice Banton, has been making videos on TikTok for four years and has over 1.7 million followers and called it “a win-win situation for TikTok and its creators”