Irrespective of the poster’s physical location, the current restrictions on the social video uploading site will expressly prohibit users from publishing marketing materials regarding financial services. The advertising of all financial services and products is also now worldwide forbidden, as per TikTok’s sponsored community guidelines, as per the FT Adviser report.
In 2020, TikTok was a hotspot for Dogecoin (DOGE) excitement, with users sharing relevant videos in an attempt to persuade more people to come on board. In recent times, several social media platforms have featured noteworthy financial markets debates, with stock debates on Reddit getting increasingly popular.
Martin Bamford, client training chief at Informed Choice, told FT Adviser, “My understanding of this is [TikTok] is cracking down on intentionally or unintentionally sponsored material that connects to an affiliate program, for instance, to join up to a trading platform and earn complimentary stocks.”
“On TikTok, we are seeing a lot of this sponsored material, generally from uninformed critics who entice followers with assurances of fortunes but make their money off individuals joining up via affiliate programs.”
It’s uncertain if TikTok’s prohibition covers all financial product talks or just those that are purely commercial. In 2018, Google prohibited crypto ads, however portion of that restriction was lifted in 2020 for select businesses, subject to specific conditions.