2023-08-04 19:06:28
The Chinese social network TikTok announced, Friday, August 4, to modify its operation, in particular by allowing its users to deactivate the automatic display of content, in order to comply with the new rules of the European Union (EU) which will come into force. at the end of the month.
Under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), internet giants will have to abide by tougher rules on data privacy, child protection, disinformation and hate speech. European Commissioner Thierry Breton asked TikTok in mid-July “to speed up” its work to comply with these new rules: “At the end of August, we will assess whether real and tangible changes have been made”he had warned.
TikTok, whose parent company is Chinese ByteDance, will now offer the option to disable personalized content recommendations – that is, the automatic feed determined by algorithm according to the user’s presumed interests, a feature often considered addictive . Instead, users located in the EU will be able to freely choose to watch popular videos in their region or in other areas of the world, he said in a statement.
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Transparency on content moderation
The other changes aim to make it easier for users to report illegal content and to prohibit targeted advertising for profiles whose displayed age is between 13 and 17 years old. TikTok also assures that it will be more transparent about its content moderation decisions, providing more details on why a video was removed.
“We will not only continue to meet our regulatory obligations, but also strive to set new standards through innovative solutions”the group said.
TikTok, an app for sharing short and entertaining videos, has over a billion active users worldwide, including 125 million in the EU, and is particularly popular with young people thanks to its editing features and an AI-powered algorithm. But it is suspected by the American authorities and by several European countries of not protecting the data enough and of allowing Beijing to spy on and manipulate its users, which the group has always vigorously denied.
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