WSJ report on user 'clusters' reveals how unsettling TikTok's data collection can be
It's already known just how extensive TikTok is about collecting user data. From names, users’ approximate locations, and IP addresses, to even keystrokes, it's pretty intense. This meticulous level of data collection is an advertisers' wet dream, but it's the method by which TikTok catalogs that data that reportedly gave rise to recent internal concerns.
As The Wall Street Journalreported on Friday, former TikTok employees have claimed that the app has been tracking the videos that users watch under topics, including "LGBT," and in essence compiling lists of users who watch such content, which could at one point be viewed by some employees through a dashboard.
SEE ALSO:Montana legislature passes TikTok banThe WSJ described the groupings as "clusters," which function like the notorious "taste clusters" at Netflix that have been extensively mocked and parodied. They had names such as "mainstream female," "alt female," "southeastern black male," and "coastal, white-collar male," according to the Journal's report. TikTok does not ask for users' sexual orientation, but based on the content users watch, it appears the algorithm was, at the very least, assuming that users were members of the LGBTQ community and categorizing them accordingly, all in the name of getting people to use the app more.
In one telling example, the WSJnotes that the "alt-female" cluster branches out into content related to "tattoos, some lesbian content, and 'Portland.'"
As noted in the report, it is not uncommon for many social media and ad-tech companies to infer traits about their users based on online behavior. They use it to select which content or ads to serve to users. However, with TikTok's "clusters" system, liking LGBT content didn't just mean you were shown more queer-friendly content, but it seems the app as a whole essentially labeled users as members of the community.
This sketchy way of cataloging user data lead to internal worries, according to the WSJ, as some TikTok employees could view the unique identification numbers of users and the list of users who were watching videos in each cluster. This raised fears among the workers that the data could be shared with outside parties or used to blackmail LGBT users, the WSJreported. Especially since Tiktok has admitted in the past to spying on reporters.
A spokeswoman for TikTok told the WSJthat the app doesn't identify sensitive information based on what users watch and that users' interests do not necessarily represent their identity. TikTok also confirmed that the dashboard used to access data on watchers of gay content was deleted nearly a year ago.
Related Stories
- Montana legislature passes TikTok ban (Update: Ban is now law)
- As U.S. leaders debate a TikTok ban, lawmakers and creators clash over generational and social differences
- U.S. threatens TikTok ban unless Chinese owners sell stake
- LGBTQ centers leave Twitter following removal of hateful conduct protections
- What is Project Texas, TikTok’s best chance to avoid a ban?
TikTok still collects this data but has simply replaced the cluster names with numbers and restricted access to a smaller number of employees within the company's new U.S. unit.
It'll be interesting to see how this new development plays out as the US continues to push to ban TikTok in the country. However, given the US government's own capabilities of spying on its own citizens and its, at best, "tolerance" of the LGBTQ community right now, this might not mean much to the relevant policymakers in DC.
-
抖音超600万次传播量!广东省农事运动会乡村直播大赛火出圈OnePlus TV is comingKoeman delighted as Barca players share goalscoring burdenBenzema is the business, crows Zidane16 of the Most Epic Sandwiches Around the PlanetKoreas to connect road inside heavily fortified DMZPeople are ditching their boring Christmas trees for pineapples this year颜值有提升!金鸡关收费站开通了[Graphic News] Average book price nears 20,000 wonTrump impeachment chances: Rinat Akhmetshin edition.
下一篇:I Deleted All My Social Accounts: Three Weeks Without Social Media
- ·Best Labor Day mattress deals in 2024
- ·Trump to end DACA, NBC reports.
- ·You can now pitch Coinbase to list your bad altcoin
- ·Thanks, Apple, for making it easy to cling to my iPhone 6S
- ·A Global Tour of Bakeries With Fascinating Histories
- ·S. Korea reports most deaths amid spiking critically ill patients
- ·Koeman delighted as Barca players share goalscoring burden
- ·Bill O’Reilly thinks Trump doesn’t know about the Holocaust.
- ·Expanded police surveillance will get us “broken windows” on steroids.
- ·Planned Parenthood's app is expanding access to birth control
- ·Trump exempts Apple Watch and AirPods from Chinese tariffs
- ·Trump says North Korean missile sites are 'nothing new'
- ·Apple's iPhone 17 will come with a huge RAM upgrade, report claims
- ·Trump exempts Apple Watch and AirPods from Chinese tariffs
- ·Why experts are freaking out over the new way Google Chrome sign
- ·2 natural earthquakes detected in sea off North Korea
- ·24 of the Oldest Trees in the World
- ·These videos illustrate how Harvey’s floodwaters are devastating Houston.
- ·You can now pitch Coinbase to list your bad altcoin
- ·Boris Johnson told 'please leave my town' by polite but brutally honest man
- ·一针一线串起两代人的传承故事
- ·'Microsoft the Musical' is the catchiest tech musical you'll ever see
- ·'Microsoft the Musical' is the catchiest tech musical you'll ever see
- ·'Microsoft the Musical' is the catchiest tech musical you'll ever see
- ·Cyrix: Gone But Not Forgotten
- ·Trump says summit with North Korea to happen early next year
- ·Alcaraz vs. Van de Zandschulp 2024 livestream: Watch US Open for free
- ·Turns out you can sell your lamp on Tinder. You just have to watch out for ghosting.
- ·Moon picks former judge as inaugural chief of anti
- ·S. Korea reports most deaths amid spiking critically ill patients
- ·How do you make safe, cheap nuclear reactors? Bury them a mile deep
- ·“The president speaks for himself”: Did Rex Tillerson just turn on Trump?
- ·S. Korea investigating new suspected case of highly pathogenic bird flu
- ·7 words the CDC is reportedly banned from using include 'transgender' and 'science
- ·iPhone 16 Pro new color will reportedly be Desert Titanium
- ·“The president speaks for himself”: Did Rex Tillerson just turn on Trump?