TikTok is Under Fire
TikTok is under scrutiny in many countries. There are fears that China is using the app as a surveillance weapon and now the app is slammed for its unethical practices.
In the past, TikTok had been criticized for many reasons. From data harvesting to poor content moderation and sometimes even for spying. And now the app is under fire once again. For years TikTok has clearly maintained that whatever appears on the user's feed is personalized. it's ranked by an algorithm that predicts the user's interest based on one's behavior in the app.
But according to Forbes's report, that's not the full story. TikTok also uses a secret heating button that can make anyone go viral. In other words, it's a manual push to amplify reach and to ensure that specific videos achieve a certain number of views.
TikTok employees secretly handpick specific videos and supercharge their distribution. You'd be surprised to know that certain employees use this tool to boost their own TikTok accounts and even that of their spouses.
TikTok is Biased
The point to note is that TikTok has never publically disclosed that it artificially boosts certain content.
It's true that other tech giant also engages in such activities, they promote specific posts to their users but they usually clearly label when they do so.
But it's said that TikTok has been biased. It has used this practice in certain videos. TikTok pays special attention to certain influencers and brands. Why? To entice them into partnership by inflating the view count on their videos. This practice has potentially benefited some influencers and brands, especially those with whom TikTok has sought business relationships.
Fear of Political Manipulation
That's not all, such practices also reignite fears of political manipulation on TikTok.
Let's say certain narratives could be amplified while others could be suppressed. We look at social media as very democratizing but this revelation makes us question once again, does social media gives everyone the same opportunity?
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