TikTok
Branded Content Policy

Last updated: November 2023

What is Branded Content?

Branded content (β€œBranded Content”) is content that promotes a third party brand or its products or services in exchange for payment or any other incentive.

Branded Content includes content which features or references:

  • A product or service that has been gifted to you by (or on behalf of) a brand;
  • A brand, product or service that you have been paid to post about (whether in the form of money or a gift);
  • A product or service for which you will receive a commission on any sales (for instance, via an affiliate link or promotional code); or
  • A brand that you have or have had a commercial relationship with, such as acting as a brand ambassador.

Rules for posting Branded Content:

  • You are responsible for ensuring that any Branded Content that you post complies with all applicable laws and regulations. While the rules in this Branded Content Policy are intended to help you to comply with relevant laws and regulations, they are not exhaustive and you should be aware of any other applicable legal requirements.
  • As well as following these rules when you post Branded Content, you must also comply with TikTok’s Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.
  • To the extent that your Branded Content does not comply with any of these rules, we may remove the content or impose other restrictions.
  • We may update these rules periodically (for instance, if we need to reflect any changes to applicable laws or regulations) and in some instances we may need to apply them to content you have already posted (for example, if a new law requires us to no longer display certain types of content).

What do you need to do when you post Branded Content?

  • When posting Branded Content, you must enable the commercial content disclosure toggle. This is accessible through the content disclosure settings when posting your video. See here for information on how to enable the toggle. When you enable the toggle, and indicate that the content is posted on behalf of a third party, your content will be automatically labelled to indicate that it is Branded Content. In addition, where required by law, your content may be added to the TikTok Commercial Content Library (please note that, in some circumstances, TikTok may be required to ensure that Branded Content remains publicly available in the library even if the original content is deleted or altered).
  • You must ensure that the product or service you are promoting is sufficiently clear, without requiring other users to access your profile page or any links. For instance, you should explicitly identify the product or service verbally and/or in the text caption.
  • You must not make false, deceptive or misleading claims about the products or services.
  • You must not post content promoting illegal products or services.
  • You must not promote products or services relating to any of the 🚫Prohibited Industries listed below.
  • You should also be aware that, if you promote products or services subject to any of the Country-Specific Requirements listed here, or which are otherwise subject to additional legal requirements or restrictions in specific countries or regions, we may prevent the content from being accessed in the relevant countries, or apply other restrictions (such as specific age limits).
  • In addition, you must not:
    • use surreptitious or subliminal techniques;
    • prejudice respect for human dignity;
    • include or promote any discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, nationality, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation;
    • encourage behaviour prejudicial to health or safety or which is grossly prejudicial to the protection of the environment;
    • cause physical, mental or moral detriment to minors;
    • directly exhort minors to buy or hire a product or service or directly encourage minors to persuade their parents or others to purchase goods or services being advertised; or
    • exploit the special trust minors place in parents, teachers or other persons, or show minors in dangerous situations.

Prohibited Industries

You must not post Branded Content which promotes products or services from the following 🚫 Prohibited Industries.

  • 🚫 Adult and sexual products and services - Including adult entertainment and related products and services, such as pornography, sex toys, lubricants, and fetish costumes, including underwear like corsets and micro-thongs.
  • 🚫 Alcohol - Including alcoholic beverages (wine, beer, spirits, etc.), alcohol clubs/subscription services, alcohol-making kits, and alcohol-sponsored events. This includes alcohol-free or no-alcohol alternatives and soft drinks presented as mixers for alcohol.
  • 🚫 Animals - Including buying or selling animals, and animal body parts and products from protected, endangered or threatened animals, including organs, horns, ivory, bone, skin, fur, wool, leather, or teeth.
  • 🚫 Cigarettes and tobacco products - Including cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, e-cigarettes, cigarette containers, shisha, vaporizers or vape devices, including those without tobacco content, and other related products and services.
  • 🚫 Contraceptive products and services - Including any products, services, artificial methods, or other techniques - medical or non-medical - to prevent or terminate pregnancies, including abortion-related services.
  • 🚫 Dating and live video applications or services - Including dating services and live video chat services that are focused on generating connections between people who are interested in romance, casual sex, sexual favors, or friendship.
  • 🚫 Drug-related products and services - Including illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia, recreational and prescription drugs, and CBD supplements.
  • 🚫 Financial products or services or opportunities - Including foreign exchange, loans, credit cards, buy now pay later services, debt consolidation or settlement services, investment services, lending and management of money assets, trading platforms, pyramid schemes, multi-level marketing opportunities, credit repair, bail bonds, penny auctions, virtual currencies, cash or paycheck advance, payday loans, and β€œget rich quick” schemes. Please see the region-specific guidance for exceptions.
  • 🚫 Gambling - Including online gambling, casinos, social casinos, sports betting, fantasy sports, bingo, lotteries, and other gambling-related content.
  • 🚫 Pharmaceuticals, healthcare and medicine products - Including any medical institutions or treatments, pharmacological products claiming health benefits, over-the-counter medicines, prescription drugs, vitamins, and powders, shakes or gummies claiming to have vitamin or health benefits. Teeth whitening products and hair growth products are also not allowed.
  • 🚫 Political content - All political or issue-based advertising is prohibited:
    • Candidates or nominees for public office, political parties, elected or appointed government officials are prohibited from advertising.
    • The spouses of candidates, elected, or appointed government officials with official duties or offices are prohibited from advertising.
    • Royal Family members with official government capacities are also prohibited from advertising.
    • Political and issue-based advertising includes:
      • ads that reference, promote, or oppose candidates or nominees for public office, political parties, or elected or appointed government officials;
      • ads that reference an election, including voter registration, voter turnout, and appeals for votes;
      • ads that include advocacy for or against past, current, or proposed referenda, ballot measures, and legislative, judicial or regulatory outcomes or processes, including ads that promote or attack government policies or track records; and
      • ads that reference, promote, sell, merchandise that feature prohibited individuals, entities or content, including campaign slogans, symbols, or logos.
  • 🚫 Products and services that enable dishonest behavior - Including products or services that may infringe upon individual privacy, steal other people's personal information, infringe upon a third party's intellectual and other property rights, steal other people's property, or assist with dishonest behavior, such as fraud or falsification.
  • 🚫 Professional services - Including accounting services, legal services, and immigration services.
  • 🚫 Weapons, ammunition, or explosives - Including weapons and related parts, such as firearms, firearm parts, firearm silencers, firearm suppressors, paintball guns, bb guns, non-culinary knives/blades/spears, tasers, nunchucks, batons, swords, pepper-spray, fireworks or other explosives, and other objects that are designed to cause harm to individuals or for self-defense.
  • 🚫 Weight loss products or services - Including weight loss clinics, weight loss/management supplements (including fat burning pills, appetite suppressants, weight loss/detox teas, or lollipops), and fasting services and products. Please see the region-specific guidance for exceptions.
  • 🚫 Counterfeit Products - content must not display or promote counterfeit documents, such as counterfeit degrees, passports, or immigration papers, counterfeit or unauthorized replicas of a real product.
  • 🚫 Other prohibited products or services - Any other businesses, products, or services that are highly controversial, distasteful, violent, or dangerous would be deemed incompatible with the TikTok platform. Examples include international brides, hazardous chemical products, trading of human organs and transplants, prenatal sex determination services, and protected wild flora. This also includes Branded Content that refers to a sensitive event or topic (e.g. deaths, natural/industrial disasters, violent attacks, civil disorder, etc.) and contain any of the following: personal attacks, hashtag appropriation, the selling of goods/services, political campaigning, solicitation of followers, or other inappropriate content.