TikTok Looks for Balance between Creative Freedom and Community Guidelines in MENA

There is a balancing act between creative freedom and the Community Guidelines, as the safety and well-being of the community is top priority, TikTok regional manager says.

Tarek Abdalla, TikTok's regional general manager for the Middle East, Turkey, Africa, Pakistan and South Asia (METAP and South Asia), who was appointed to his post in July this year, has talked to Arab News and explained how the social platform looks to strike a balance between freedom and safety.

Abdalla says his goal is “to drive strategic growth initiatives and solidify TikTok’s presence in these markets (METAP and South Asia), as well as support our business teams with their goals of connecting partners with TikTok’s growing community.” Although being global, the company, he says, prioritises a local approach, which means that the regional team can “bring our creators the content and the information that resonates locally.”

Despite TikTok’s growing popularity, or probably, thanks to is, the platform continues to face issues with content moderation.

We aim to build responsibly and equitably so our community has the creative freedom to make authentic and meaningful content,

said Abdalla.

As part of its policy, TikTok removes any content that violates its guidelines by using a mix of technology and human moderation. In the second quarter of 2022 alone, TikTok removed approximately 25 million violating videos in the region.

The company also started to introduce content levels earlier this year. Some of the content is now assigned special "maturity score," which helps protect younger audience from video containing mature or complex themes.