(AP) — To combat misinformation, TikTok will begin labeling content created using artificial intelligence when it is uploaded from outside its 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 created with his TikTok AI effects and have been encouraging creators to label realistic AIGC for over a year now.” I have requested it.”
TikTok's change in direction is part of a broader effort in the tech industry to provide more safeguards against 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. Facebook and Instagram users will see labels on AI-generated images.
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 has partnered with the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity and will use its 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 began rolling out the technology to images and videos on Thursday, and said it plans to roll it out to audio-only content soon.
In the coming months, content credentials will be attached to posts on TikTok and will remain with the content when downloaded. This helps identify AI-generated material 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.
“Using content credentials as a way to identify synthetic media and communicate it directly to viewers is a meaningful step toward AI transparency, even more so than common watermarking techniques,” said AI and AI at the Partnership on AI. said Claire Liebowitz, Head of Media Integrity Program. said in a prepared statement. “At the same time, we need to better understand how users respond to these labels, and how TikTok can report on those responses to inform how the public can navigate an increasingly AI-powered world.” We want to be able to better understand what to gate.”
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 170 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.
