TikTok restores Musk documentary ad account after calling ban an error

What happened

TikTok reportedly suspended the promotional account for Musk, the nearly four-hour documentary about the billionaire Elon Musk, directed by Alex Gibney. The move came just before the film’s wider US release. According to The Hollywood Reporter (THR), the account was the film’s advertising account, and TikTok said the reason was a “repeated pattern of political content that violates its policies.” Engadget, citing the same report, described the reason as political content that goes against TikTok’s policy.

The film’s distributor, Bleecker Street, which handles releasing the movie to cinemas, was told on a Friday afternoon that a “permanent suspension” was imminent, according to The Verge. Before the account was removed, it had posted that people should see the movie “before it gets shut down.” TikTok did not immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.

On October 18, TikTok reversed the decision. A TikTok US spokesperson told Engadget that the restriction was made in error and that the platform had reinstated Bleecker Street’s ad account, so it may resume posting as long as its ads follow TikTok’s policies. Mahsau Cullinane, another TikTok US spokesperson, confirmed the same thing to The Verge, saying the ad account had been restored after an error.

The film has faced other advertising problems. Last month, YouTube, Meta, X and TikTok all faced criticism for rejecting ads for the film. YouTube and Meta later reversed course. A Meta spokesperson described the first decision as an error, and YouTube said the trailer had been cleared to run. X and TikTok did not change their positions, and neither platform has allowed paid advertisements for the film, according to The Verge. Engadget reports that X, which is owned by Musk, has refused to run the trailer.

The Verge also noted that TikTok has no official affiliation with Elon Musk, but that part owner Larry Ellison appears in the film through a text message offering to help Musk fund his Twitter purchase.

Who is affected

The film’s distributor, Bleecker Street, was directly affected, since the suspended account was its advertising account. The film opened on October 9 in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles. Following an initial gross of around $70,000 over its opening weekend, showings expanded to many more US theaters on October 16, according to Engadget.

What to do next

Bleecker Street told THR that it would appeal the decision and try to get it reversed. TikTok has said the account may resume posting as long as its ads comply with the platform’s policies.