TikTok Wants to Be More Transparent With Its Algorithm

TikTok introduced on Tuesday it’s turning into extra clear by introducing a brand new function that can inform customers why its algorithm recommends sure movies of their feeds. The change is being rolled out in customers’ For You feed and can embrace a query mark icon titled “Why this video” for customers to overview.

A TikTok spokesperson confirmed the function may be accessed beginning right now and the icon will checklist why the video was chosen, together with examples of earlier interactions, accounts the person follows, content material the person has posted just lately, or content material that has turn out to be fashionable within the person’s area.

“Looking ahead, we’ll continue to expand this feature to bring more granularity and transparency to content recommendations,” TikTok stated in a news release.

However, regardless of TikTok’s assurances it values transparency, the app has been banned from authorities gadgets in some states and it’s going by means of a nationwide safety overview with the Committee on Foreign Investment within the United States.

The renewed transparency comes as social media platforms have confronted appreciable scrutiny in latest weeks over the kind of content material younger customers are being directed to that may lead them towards dangerous content material surrounding suicide and consuming problems.

An investigation by the Wall Street Journal final yr discovered that one of many methods TikTok’s algorithms recommended content material to customers was how lengthy the particular person lingered over the video, even when they didn’t work together with it.

Lawmakers have gone as far as to introduce a invoice led by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) that will ban TikTok from working within the U.S.

In a press release final week, Rubio accused TikTok of amassing person’s information to “manipulate feeds” and accused the app of being a “CCP [Chinese Communist Party]-puppet company,” and Gallagher went as far as to name TikTok “digital fentanyl that’s addicting Americans, collecting troves of their data, and censoring their news.”

“This feature is one of many ways we’re working to bring meaningful transparency to the people who use our platform and builds on a number of steps we’ve taken towards that goal.”

The new algorithm function is one in every of a number of bulletins the tech firm has made to seemingly ease rising considerations concerning the app and the corporate behind it. The firm has added instruments for customers to customise the content material suggestions, parental controls to limit the content material youngsters see on the app, and it has pledged to be extra clear with its content material moderation techniques.

“At TikTok, we want people to feel empowered creating, connecting, and engaging on our platform,” the corporate wrote within the information launch. “ That’s why we equip creators and viewers with a range of features, tools, and resources so they can stay in control of their experience. Today we’re adding to that toolbox with a feature that helps bring more context to content recommended in For You feeds.”