MICHELLE CHAPMAN (AP Business Writer)
TikTok will begin labeling content created using artificial intelligence when it is uploaded from outside its platform.
TikTok says its efforts are an attempt to stop the spread of misinformation on the social media platform.
“AI enables great creative opportunities, but it can also confuse or mislead viewers if they don't know the content was generated by AI,” the company said in a prepared statement Thursday. There is a possibility that it will happen.” “Labeling helps clarify that context. That's why we label AIGC made with his TikTok AI effects and have been encouraging creators to label realistic AIGC for over a year.” I have requested it.”
The move is part of the tech industry's overall effort to provide more safeguards for the use of AI. Meta announced in February that it was working with industry partners on technology standards that would make it easier to identify images, and ultimately video and audio, produced by artificial intelligence tools. The initiative includes showing Facebook and Instagram users labels for AI-generated images that appear in their social media feeds.
Google announced last year that AI labels would be coming to YouTube and other platforms.
The push for digital watermarking and labeling of AI-generated content was also part of an executive order signed by US President Joe Biden in October.
TikTok said it will partner with the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity and use Content Credentials technology.
The company says the technology allows metadata to be attached to content, which can be used to instantly recognize and label AI-generated content. TikTok said the feature will begin to be used for images and videos starting Thursday, and will soon be used for audio-only content as well.
In the coming months, content credentials will be attached to content created on TikTok and will remain with the content when downloaded. This helps identify AI-generated content created on TikTok and helps people know when, where, and how content was created or edited. Other platforms that employ content credentials can automatically label content credentials.
TikTok is the first video-sharing platform to operationalize credentials and said it will join the Adobe-led Content Authenticity Initiative to accelerate the adoption of credentials within the industry.
“TikTok is the first social media platform to support content credentials, and with over 140 million users in the U.S. alone, its platform and vast community of creators and users are committed to increasing transparency online. It is an important part of the chain of trust needed to ensure that the trust is met,” Dana Rao, Adobe's executive vice president, general counsel, and chief trust officer, said in a blog post.
TikTok's policy so far has been to encourage users to label content that is generated or heavily edited by AI. Users must also label all AI-generated content that includes realistic images, audio, and video.
“Our users and creators are incredibly excited about AI and what it can do for their creativity and ability to connect with their audiences.” Adam Presser, Head of Operations, Trust and Safety at TikTok he told ABC News. “And at the same time, we want to help people understand what is fact and what is fiction.”
The announcement was originally made on ABC's “Good Morning America” on Thursday.
TikTok's AI measures come just two days after TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance announced they had filed a lawsuit challenging a new U.S. law that bans video-sharing apps in the U.S. unless they are sold to authorized buyers. It was done a day later. It unfairly singles out the platform and is an unprecedented attack on free speech.
The lawsuit is the latest development in a long legal battle over TikTok's future in the U.S. that could eventually reach the Supreme Court. If TikTok loses, it will be forced to shut down next year.