TikTok turns its back on political ads

San Francisco: Youth-friendly TikTok on Friday said it won’t allow political ads because they would clash with the “light-hearted” feeling at the social network where people share playful video snippets.
TikTok, which is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, is dabbling with paid advertising at the service, which has proven a hit with teenagers, vice president of global business solutions Blake Chandlee said in an online post.
“We’re intent on always staying true to why users uniquely love the TikTok platform itself: for the app’s light-hearted and irreverent feeling that makes it such a fun place to spend time,” Chandlee said.
“In that spirit, we have chosen not to allow political ads on TikTok.” TikTok, which has its headquarters in Southern California, lets advertisers sponsor hashtag contests or run short-form ads in keeping with the short video snippet style at the service.
The company recently began testing a TikTok Creator Marketplace where marketers can connect with popular users, or “creators,” at the service for advertising campaigns.