TikTok has revealed that its users in the European Union (EU) will soon have the ability to disable its notably addictive content-selection algorithm.
This move is in response to the upcoming EU Digital Services Act (DSA), which necessitates platforms like TikTok to give users the option to view content suggestions not derived from their monitored activity on the site, often referred to as “personalization”.
In this regard, users in Europe will soon have the option to experience a ‘For You’ feed that is not personalized, as part of TikTok’s efforts to align with the EU’s revised digital regulations.
The video-sharing platform recently declared the initiation of its first-ever advertisement transparency library, currently only available for ads shown in Europe. They are also extending their research API regionally, as part of their compliance plan for the DSA that is due later on 28 August 28.
In April, the EU identified TikTok as one of 19 Very Large Online Platforms or search engines. The platforms are required by the regulation to provide users the option to disable recommender systems based on user profiling. These entities are also expected to address algorithmic risks by providing transparency reports, as the EU increases scrutiny around AI usage by big tech platforms.
This forthcoming algorithm option for TikTok users in Europe implies that instead of viewing content on their “For You” and “Live feeds” that is chosen by the algorithm for its engagement potential, based on the user’s history on the platform, users will have the chance to opt out of this monitoring-based attention targeting.
