TikTok has released new community standards that aim to make the service safer for everyone who uses it.
To make the standards more accessible, the firm has updated them to include new policies on artificial intelligence (AI) and climate disinformation. Further details regarding TikTok's current regulations pertaining to civil and electoral integrity and age limitations have been included.
According to TechCrunch, the new rules go into effect on Apr. 21 and arrive just before TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to testify before lawmakers this week to address mounting security concerns.
Synthetic Media
Synthetic or digitally altered material depicting realistic situations must now include a clear disclaimer, as per the revised regulations. According to the firm, labels or captions indicating that something is artificial, phony, not genuine, or manipulated may serve this purpose.
AI's inventiveness is welcomed by TikTok, but the technology may make it hard to tell between fiction and reality, which can be dangerous.
Synthetic media is defined by TikTok as material developed or edited using AI tech. This includes digitally made content of actual people that is very lifelike, such as a video of a real person expressing words that have been tweaked or altered.
Artificial media depicting realistic situations without clear disclosure or titling will be prohibited on TikTok going forward, as per TechCrunch. Also, the app does not permit content that has been altered or spliced in a manner that might lead a user astray concerning actual occurrences.
It will be acceptable to use visual effects to depict a public person in certain types of educational and noncommercial media. Videos of famous people performing the TikTok dance or discussing their historical significance will be allowed on the app.
TikTok's current AI policy prohibits synthetic or edited material that misleads consumers by misrepresenting events and causes serious damage to the subject of the video, other people, or society. The new restrictions go further.
Danger Posed by AI
The success of AI-related products like DALL-E 2 and ChatGPT has led to a flurry of new regulations in this space. It is no surprise that TikTok is changing its policy to include restrictions addressing AI after the warnings raised by professionals about the potential dangers posed by the tech.
"Our community is changing. We see new trends coming and going, and we think we need to regularly update these guidelines to meet the expectation of people who come on our service," Julie de Bailliencourt, TikTok's global director of product policy, told reporters.
Climate Change Misinformation
TechCrunch said that TikTok has also updated its misinformation policy to include a new section on deception about climate change.
Misinformation on climate change that "undermines well-established scientific consensus," such as denying the reality of climate change or rejecting the elements that lead to it, is not allowed on TikTok. Nonetheless, the app does permit debates on climate change, including the pros and drawbacks of various policies and technologies.
It is also permitted to discuss individual perspectives on particular weather occurrences so long as they do not discredit the scientific consensus.
