A new briefing paper produced by the London Social Media Observatory and Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) details emerging risks to democratic participation on TikTok.
The LSMO and WFD brought together 45 policymakers, academics, civil society representatives and strategic advisors at a roundtable discussion to explore what the risks are and how they can be mitigated.
Split into two panels, key discussions included concerns around current moderation standards on the platform, the potential of highly-personalised feeds for fuelling polarisation, the lack of sufficient digital media skills training for educators and young users, and the need for better access to platform data for independent researchers in order to accurately study these and other pressing concerns.
Following presentations from panellists, insights were synthesised with input from attendees to produce a series of recommendations for policymakers, academic and research institutions, civil society organisations, and content creators. These include ensuring fair and transparent moderation practices, increased oversight for gendered and polarising content, and researcher access to platform data.
The briefing paper provides an overview of the dominant themes that emerged from each panel discussion, as well as consolidated recommendations for key stakeholders.
The event marked the first public roundtable conducted by the LSMO since our launch in December 2025.
Reporting on the success of the event, Dr Andreu Casas, Director of the London Social Media Observatory noted: “We are very excited to be launching this briefing paper in collaboration with Westminster Foundation for Democracy.
“Part of LSMO’s mission is to contribute innovation and thought leadership across academia, civil society, and government, regarding the authenticity and safety of social media platforms, particularly around politics, democracy, and elections.
“We are thrilled to be working with WFD to gather crucial insight from a diverse range of stakeholders to understand the many concerns they have around content moderation and governance on TikTok, to inform our future research on the topic.”
Tanja Hollstein, Head of Elections at WFD, said: “As social media platforms increasingly shape how citizens engage with politics and elections, it’s vital that we understand the risks they may pose to democratic participation.
“We initiated this event with the London Social Media Observatory to create coalitions of knowledge and expertise to find effective responses.”
“The discussions highlighted genuine concerns about content moderation practices and their potential impact on electoral integrity. We hope this briefing paper will help inform policymakers as they consider how to ensure social media platforms support, rather than undermine, healthy democratic debate.”
Limited access to platform data presents a huge barrier to conducting rigorous assessments of how social media platforms moderate content. As a consequence, external researchers face many challenges when examining how this may affect emerging risks, including the growth of misinformation and weakening forms of democratic participation.
Through the discussions conducted with attendees, LSMO continues to call for better access to platform data to facilitate further research into the implications of content moderation on users. This should enable stronger oversight into the unique dynamics of political communication and user exchange on platforms.
Notes:
Westminster Foundation for Democracy is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. A key focus is promoting integrity, inclusivity, transparency, and accountability in the electoral process.
For further information about WFD please visit www.wfd.org, email comms@wfd.org, or connect with them on LinkedIn.