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TikTok does not want to be less than Meta and Google in adapting to the rules of the Digital services act, which became effective on August 25th. And he made it known in a press release on August 28th.
The importance of Dsa for TikTok
Moreover, the company is more than the others in the crosshairs of politics – especially the American one – for alleged ties with China. Maintaining good relations with Europe is vital for Tiktok. This may be why, in addition to recalling the various measures already taken in recent weeks to adapt to the DSA, on August 28 it tries to take a step further: it has created a European hub for online security: a “one-stop shop” to find out more about how it is complying with the DSA and what this means for users. Another novelty with which the company tries to convince everyone that it is doing its utmost to satisfy Europe: it announces that it has set up a new corporate compliance function, “to ensure that we continue to meet the commitments set out in this important legislation on content security”. We remind you that Google has also just launched a “Transparency Center where users can easily access information on our product-by-product policies, find our reporting and appeal tools, discover our Transparency Reports and learn more about the our policy development process. TikTok has also put a thousand people to work on the DSA, as just stated.
Advertising
Speaking of impact on users. As of July, 13-17 year olds active in Europe can no longer see personalized ads based on their activities on or off TikTok. As is already the case with Google and Meta products. And, as those two companies did, there’s now a “Commercial Content Library” (as TikTok calls it), a searchable database that offers information about paid ads on TikTok and their metadata, like ad creative, dates in where the ad was published and the main parameters used for targeting. A measure that serves to increase transparency on everything behind an ad and therefore increase control by the users who see it, but also by advertising investors.
Stop all algorithm
Users in Europe can now opt out of personalizing TikTok content. So the For You and LIVE sections will also suggest videos of local interest, or globally popular, rather than just content based on their personal interests. Meta also announced the possibility for users to disable personalization in feeds and search results on Facebook, Instagram. Moderation One of the DSA news with the greatest direct impact on users regarding content moderation. TikTok has added this additional reporting option to allow users to report content (including advertising) that they consider illegal. Meta, Google, Amazon have also improved reporting systems. We know that the DSA makes online platforms more liable for any damage caused by their content, therefore forcing them to carry out a more effective job of removing illegal content, once identified. However, the DSA also allows users to appeal more forcefully against decisions blocking or removing their content. TikTok has not made any announcements on this (unlike Meta and Google).
Researchers
TikTok, on the other hand, as well as Meta and Google, is now enhancing the access of researchers to its data.“Access to the Research API: with the aim of offering even greater transparency on TikTok content, registrations for academics from European institutions who wish to carry out research on our platform”. This too improves the accountability of the platform, i.e. the possibility of third parties (researchers, journalists) to control how it circulates. Twitter largely absent X (ex Twitter), in the announcements of compliance with the DSA. The latest news is from June, where the European Commission had communicated that it was working with X. Elon Musk, head of X, had however also said that he did not like the new obligations. He could also weigh the difficult financial phase going through by the platform, which according to the latest statements by Musk himself, risks bankruptcy.