The corporation is once more attempting to boost transparency as it prepares for its newest battle to avoid being banned in the United States. The comprehensive set of regulations that govern what producers are permitted to publish on TikTok’s platform, the community guidelines, have been changed, according to the app. The modifications happen only days before CEO Shou Zi Chew appears before Congress for the first time and is questioned about claims that TikTok poses a threat to national security.
In an effort to dispel these allegations, the corporation has been on a charm offensive and lately tried to explain its algorithm, rules, and moderation procedures. The recently revised community standards, which will go into effect the next month, also provide additional information about the platform’s policies and how it enacts them.
Despite TikTok’s claim that it is “the most comprehensive updates to our Community Guidelines to date,” many of the actual changes are minor adjustments made to current rules rather than the creation of brand-new or totally revised ones. One significant exception is that the new standards have a whole section devoted to “synthetic media” and AI-generated content. The amended policies are far more detailed about how AI-generated material can be used on the platform compared to the original restrictions that the firm first released prohibiting deceptive or manipulative media prior to the 2020 presidential election.
According to the new rules, “Synthetic media or modified [media] that portrays realistic situations must be properly disclosed. This can be done by using a sticker or caption that says things like “synthetic,” “false,” “not real,” or “altered.” The guidelines further state that artificial intelligence-generated content featuring “any real private figure” is forbidden and cannot be utilised for political or commercial purposes.
