Social media platform TikTok will fully cooperate with the Election Commission (EC) to prevent misinformation ahead of the 13th national election, said Ferdous Muttakim, head of Public Policy and Government Relations for South Asia at TikTok.
He spoke to journalists after a two-hour meeting on Wednesday at the EC headquarters in Dhaka’s Agargaon, attended by senior officials, including the chief election commissioner.
“Our main purpose was to assure the Bangladesh Election Commission that the TikTok platform will not be used for election-related misinformation, disinformation, or manipulation,” said Muttakim. “We discussed our position, preparations, and measures in detail.”
He added that a multinational expert team presented TikTok’s efforts to ensure election-related integrity in Bangladesh. “We are fully committed to cooperating so the platform does not disrupt the electoral process in any way.”
Muttakim said TikTok had multi-layered safety mechanisms that operate year-round to prevent harmful content, including misinformation and impersonation. “During elections, we increase monitoring to prevent any coordinated attempts to influence the process.”
He also noted that TikTok’s Transparency Center publishes quarterly statistics on content or accounts removed from Bangladesh. “For instance, in Q2 2024, we removed about 16.3 million videos—not just for election purposes, but as part of our daily content integrity efforts.”
“The EC had several queries, which we addressed. Our discussion focused mainly on collaboration with the EC, current preparedness, and additional measures. We believe the EC, media, and platforms must work together to ensure a safe and reliable online environment ahead of the election,” he added.
Nine TikTok representatives attended the meeting.
