TikTok joins EU code of conduct on hate speech

BRUSSELS: The social media phenomenon TikTok joined the EU´s code of conduct on Monday as tech giants seek to persuade Europe to back away from setting laws against hate speech and disinformation. “We´re proud to sign up to the (code of conduct) to play our part,” said Theo Bertram, TikTok´s director of government relations for Europe. Facebook, Twitter and Google helped create the code of conduct in 2016 in which companies pledge to swiftly assess, flag and remove hate speech and other illegal content from their platforms. The tech giants are eager to demonstrate the success of the code of conduct as they fear far more direct oversight by Brussels on the everyday operations of their platforms. TikTok has become a global sensation with users sharing 15 to 60-second video clips on everything from hair-dye tutorials to dance routines and gags about daily life.