Removed over 500K videos, closed 8K livestreams: TikTok responds to EU

New Delhi, Oct 16 : Chinese short-video-making app TikTok has said that the platform removed over 500,000 videos and closed 8,000 livestreams to date since the attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas for violating the companys guidelines.

"Since the brutal attack on October 7, weve continued working diligently to remove content that violates our guidelines.

To date, weve removed over 500,000 videos and closed 8,000 livestreams in the impacted region for violating our guidelines," TikTok responds to the European Union (EU).

Last week, European Commissioner Thierry Breton urged TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to "urgently step up" efforts, and spell out "within the next 24 hours" how it is complying with European law.

He said that the European Commission have "indications that TikTok is being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the EU", following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel.

Moreover, TikTok mentioned that it had removed "violative content and accounts".

"We immediately mobilised significant resources and personnel to help maintain the safety of our community and integrity of our platform," the company said in a statement on Sunday.

The company also listed actions it had taken to combat misinformation and hateful content on its website.

It had created a command centre, enhanced its automated detection systems to remove graphic and violent content, and added more moderators who speak Arabic and Hebrew.

The EU also handed X, YouTube, and Meta similar warnings about misinformation, along with a 24-hour deadline.

Last week, X CEO Linda Yaccarino responded to the EU, saying that the microblogging platform has removed hundreds of "Hamas-linked accounts" and "taken action to remove or label tens of thousands of pieces of content" since the attack on Israel.

Responding to the EU, Meta said that since the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel and Israel’s response in Gaza, “expert teams from across our company have been working around the clock to monitor our platforms while protecting people’s ability to use our apps to shed light on important developments happening on the ground”.

“In the three days following October 7, we removed or marked as disturbing more than 795,000 pieces of content for violating these policies in Hebrew and Arabic,” the social network said in a blog post.

shs/prw