TikTok is making several changes for users in the European Union (EU). The announcement comes after the EU’s Digital Services Act’s (DSA) efforts to regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital services by human rights and values.
For starters, TikTok is introducing a new and easy way to report illegal content in the EU. Users can now choose from a list of categories such as hate speech, harassment and financial crimes. Content that is reported will be reviewed and will be removed globally if it violates TikTok’s policies. A new team of moderators and legal specialists have also been introduced for better assessment.
The platform is also taking the lead in informing creators when their content has been removed, when their account has received a strike, or when their account has been banned for violating TikTok’s community guidelines. TikTok promises to share more details about these decisions, including whether the action was taken by automated technology and will explain how both content creators and users who file a report can appeal a decision.
Perhaps, the biggest change of all is that users in the EU can soon turn off personalised feeds. This means their ‘For You’ and ‘LIVE Feeds’ will instead show popular videos from where they live and around the world, rather than recommending content to them based on their interests.
When using a non-personalised search, users will see results made up of popular content from their region and in their preferred language. The ‘Following’ and ‘Friends’ feeds will also show the creators they follow in chronological order.
Lastly, users in Europe 13-17 will no longer see personalised advertising based on their activities on or off TikTok. Accounts for those under 16 are also set to private by default and their content will not be recommended in the ‘For You’ feeds.
TikTok has not announced when it will implement these changes but acknowledges that there is a deadline of 28 August to meet its obligations under the DSA.
Don’t judge a book by its cover, for behind all this makeup, is a geek just like you. To simply put it, superheroes, Star Wars, Harry Potter and all things gore and creepy makes this girly girl swoon.
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