TikTok removes AfD channel
The video app TikTok has blocked the official AfD channel with around 60,000 subscribers. According to the party, the company has not yet given any reasons for this.
The deputy head of the AfD, Beatrix von Storch, sees the ban as an attempt to silence the party. In the past, TikTok has blocked individual videos from the channel and, despite repeated objections, the videos have not been restored, including her speech in the Bundestag on the subject of women's rights.
Von Storch: Will not accept censorship
"For an opposition party, social networks are a central element of their political work, since state radio and established media of the establishment very rarely report on the AfD in a balanced and fair manner," von Storch said. "Of course we will not simply accept this inadmissible interference with freedom of expression, this form of censorship."
A TikTok video by Berlin AfD MP Frank-Christian Hansel about a book by Thilo Sarrazin had already been blocked in December. The company justified the measure by saying that it was “hate speech”.
"For an opposition party, social networks are a central element of their political work, since state radio and established media of the establishment very rarely report on the AfD in a balanced and fair manner," von Storch said. "Of course we will not simply accept this inadmissible interference with freedom of expression, this form of censorship."
A TikTok video by Berlin AfD MP Frank-Christian Hansel about a book by Thilo Sarrazin had already been blocked in December. The company justified the measure by saying that it was “hate speech”.
TikTok wants to take action against hate
Since the end of April, TikTok has been working with six non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to step up action against "hate speech" on the platform . The company wants to “protect its users from negativity”. One of the NGOs mentioned is the “Diversity Charter”, an employer initiative to promote diversity in companies and institutions. According to their own statements, the other organizations involved are committed to the concerns of migrants and sexual minorities.
TikTok had already announced in 2020 that it would remove content of "hateful ideologies" such as "white or male supremacy". For example, it is forbidden to state that nobody is born with a different gender identity or sexual orientation.
Since the end of April, TikTok has been working with six non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to step up action against "hate speech" on the platform . The company wants to “protect its users from negativity”. One of the NGOs mentioned is the “Diversity Charter”, an employer initiative to promote diversity in companies and institutions. According to their own statements, the other organizations involved are committed to the concerns of migrants and sexual minorities.
TikTok had already announced in 2020 that it would remove content of "hateful ideologies" such as "white or male supremacy". For example, it is forbidden to state that nobody is born with a different gender identity or sexual orientation.
Source: Junge Freiheit
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