TikTok, the popular video-sharing app, will automatically label artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content. This move comes amid growing concerns about the spread of online disinformation and deepfakes.
What Happened: TikTok, owned by ByteDance Ltd., will introduce features to label videos identified as "AI-generated." This includes content created using Adobe's (NASDAQ: ADBE) Firefly tool, TikTok's AI image generators, and OpenAI's Dall-E.
Adam Presser, TikTok's head of operations and trust and safety, emphasized the importance of transparency for viewers in a statement. He said, "AI-generated content is an incredible creative outlet, but transparency for viewers is critical."
Other social media platforms, including Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META), X (formerly Twitter,) and Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) YouTube require users to disclose if their content is AI-generated.
These platforms have been exploring ways to integrate generative AI into their platforms, but have faced criticism for allowing users to be inundated with low-quality AI-generated spam content.
Social media platforms are also under pressure to introduce measures to combat misleading AI-generated deepfakes and disinformation campaigns.
Why It Matters: This move by TikTok comes at a time when the company is in a legal battle with the U.S. government after the Biden administration gave it nine months to divest or be banned.
Meanwhile, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has suggested that a ban on TikTok in the EU is a possibility.
In April, Meta Platforms Inc. announced a policy shift to label AI-generated content on its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. The company said it won't automatically remove AI-generated or manipulated content if it is not labeled but will instead add the labels itself.