The content that appears in the feed of TikTok users is not always chosen by a cold and mathematical algorithm: it can occasionally be promoted by very human people, reveals a survey published on Friday 20 January in the American magazine Forbes. The staff of the social network can indeed promote the distribution of content, a practice called heating internally and kept secret by TikTok. According to an internal document, that Forbes has been able to consult, these videos voluntarily propelled into the “For you” feed of users of the social network represent approximately 1% to 2% of the total volume of sequences consulted each day.
According to anonymous testimonies collected by the magazine, TikTok would not always use this weapon to promote videos that may appeal to its users or to increase the variety of content. It would also be used to woo influencers and brands to get them to sign partnerships. According to three anonymized testimonies, employees of the Chinese company even used it to promote their own publications or those of their relatives, in violation of company regulations.
In a response to ForbesTikTok admitted to promoting some videos “to help diversify content and introduce our community to some emerging creators and other celebrities”. However, the company assures that “This content represents approximately 0.002% of the videos that appear in the “For You” feed “, specifying that “for content published in the United States, only a few people based in the United States have the possibility of using this tool”.
Previous scandals
These revelations come as the platform has recently sought to demonstrate its desire for transparency on the functioning of its algorithm, regularly questioned for its opacity and its potential adverse effects. In a blog post published at the end of December, the company announced the launch of a new feature allowing users to find out more about why content was offered to them in their feed. Among the potential factors were listed the history of the user or the popularity of certain content in a given geographical area.
As reminded ForbesTikTok also admitted in December that some of its employees had spied on American journalists, including the author of the investigation, in an attempt to find the sources behind information leaks to the media. And, according to the American magazine, the team of spies – since fired – was led by an employee based in China. TikTok is, in fact, controlled by ByteDance, a Chinese company.
Driven by the fear of a potential use of the application by China for the purpose of interference, the American political class agrees around a boycott of TikTok. In December, the Senate unanimously passed a bill prohibiting its use on devices owned by the federal state, while a another billfiled on December 13 by elected officials on both sides, intends to outright ban TikTok in the country.