The dark side of TikTok's algorithm
A joint investigation by triple j Hack and Four Corners has found the TikTok algorithm is exposing Australians to dangerous content while controlling which people and political movements get users' attention.
TikTok says its mission is to "inspire creativity and bring joy". But it risks distorting the way much of a generation is seeing the world, and not always for the better.
What you see is picked by the algorithm — a set of computerised instructions that, in theory, work out what you want, and give you more of it.
As soon as you sign up, TikTok starts collecting data about your location, gender and age and, more contentiously, your facial data.
The more you "like" videos, follow an account, or watch a TikTok video until it ends, the more the algorithm learns about your interests.
"What really sets TikTok apart … is just how accurate and how up-to-the-minute this For You page recommender system seems to be," QUT researcher Dr Bondy Kaye says.
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