TikTok apologises after being accused of censoring black users

ByteDance-owned TikTok blamed a display issue stemming from a technical glitch that affected a wide array of hashtags, including #BlackLivesMatter and #GeorgeFloyd

The short video app operator said it would create a special council to amplify diverse voices as well as make donations to fight racial injustice and inequality in the US

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TikTok plans to donate US$3 million to non-profit organisations that help the black community as well as US$1 million to fight racial injustice and inequality in the US. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:46am, 2 Jun 2020Updated: 9:27am, 2 Jun 2020

TikTok apologised on Monday after complaints that posts with the hashtags #BlackLivesMatter and #GeorgeFloyd were marked with zero views on the popular short video app.

Users accused TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, of censoring black voices during protests that erupted across the US after the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis.

Some TikTok users changed their profile pictures to a raised black fist symbolising black power, while urging others to unfollow users who didn’t support the protest over what one popular TikTok user called “the unfair censorship of black creators”.

“We acknowledge and apologise to our Black creators and community who have felt unsafe, unsupported, or suppressed,” Vanessa Pappas, TikTok US general manager, and Kudzi Chikumbu, director of creator community, wrote in a blog post.

The company said it was not censoring posts and blamed a display issue stemming from a technical glitch that affected a wide array of hashtags. In reality, videos with the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag have generated more than 2 billion views, according to TikTok.

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