Deputy Minister in the Presidency responsible for the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), Kenny Morolong, on Thursday met with the executives from TikTok South Africa to explore potential areas of collaboration between government and the popular short-form video platform.
The engagement, held at GCIS in Hatfield, Pretoria, formed part of efforts to strengthen cooperation between government and digital platforms in promoting accurate information, online safety and digital literacy among citizens.
TikTok’s government relations team outlined the platform’s ongoing work with regulators and policymakers, particularly in enforcing its community guidelines, a global code of conduct outlining what is and is not permissible on the platform.
The company said it works closely with government institutions, including the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), to counter misinformation, especially during election periods.
“Our approach to content moderation combines artificial intelligence tools and human moderators based in Singapore and London. We take down harmful content and respond to requests from government in line with our moderation workflows and community guidelines,” the TikTok team explained.
The platform also contributes to digital skills development through campaigns that promote responsible online behaviour and educate users on how to report content or understand how TikTok’s algorithms operate.
Deputy Minister Morolong welcomed the engagement, noting that the partnership could support government’s broader communication objectives, including combating misinformation and disinformation online.
“Collaboration in this regard would be an important one as the role of GCIS is to ensure that the public is informed,” Morolong said, adding that the partnership will go a long way.
Morolong explained that the GCIS is entrusted with providing information to the general public.
During the meeting, TikTok proposed exploring opportunities to train government communicators on the platform’s content policies and verification processes, and to whitelist official government accounts to prevent automated systems from misclassifying government adverts as political content.
TikTok reaffirmed its global policy on political advertising, stating that while it does not allow creators to campaign for political parties or candidates, it supports public-interest and government-centric campaigns aimed at education and awareness.
The platform further highlighted opportunities for government to partner with vetted TikTok creators to amplify messages on national campaigns.
“We can assist by identifying content creators aligned with government messaging, provided we receive clear briefs on the objectives, audience, and key messages,” TikTok’s operations team said.
The company also shared insights into its monetisation programme for content creators, data analytics capabilities for campaign measurement, and its contribution to the Audio-Visual and Online Safety White Paper process in South Africa.
GCIS Acting Deputy Director-General for Content Processing and Dissemination, Sandile Nene echoed the Deputy Minister’s comments, saying TikTok platform would assist government messaging on the public. – SAnews.gov.za
