TikTok bans political ads

MANILA, Philippines — Candidates in the 2025 elections cannot use short-form video platform TikTok for their campaign.

TikTok will not air political advertisements, Tiktok Philippines public policy manager Peachy Paderna said yesterday.

“We do this so we can foster and promote an environment that brings people together, through positive dialogue, not divide them,” Paderna said during the ceremonial signing of technology companies’ pledge of support.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) welcomed TikTok’s move, as it would mean one less social media platform to monitor during the campaign period.

Other platforms that pledged support are Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Threads) and Google, which committed to help against misinformation and disinformation during the elections.

“We commit to identify and stop emerging threats and by limiting the spread of misinformation,” said Meta public policy manager Nixon David.