TikTok to be in congressional hotseat over school-trashing content

The TikTok emblem is pictured outdoors the corporate’s U.S. head workplace in Culver City, California, U.S., September 15, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Oct 25 (Reuters) – TikTok will face questions on content that will have led kids and teenagers to steal from or vandalize faculty loos and different amenities when it and different giant social media firms seem earlier than Congress on Tuesday.In setting a listening to centered on TikTok, Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) YouTube and Snapchat (SNAP.N), the Senate Commerce Committee stated the favored apps have “been misused to hurt youngsters and promote damaging acts, akin to vandalism in faculties, lethal viral challenges, bullying, consuming problems, manipulative influencer advertising and marketing, and grooming.”In his ready testimony, reviewed by Reuters in advance of the listening to, Michael Beckerman, head of public coverage for the Americas at TikTok, stated that the corporate’s moderation groups work to shortly take down any such content often called “devious licks.”The “devious licks” development on TikTok pushed college students to steal from faculties or vandalize them.”We just lately noticed content associated to ‘devious licks’ achieve traction on TikTok and different platforms,” Beckerman’s testimony says. “Our moderation groups labored swiftly to take away this content and redirect hashtags and searchresults… to discourage such habits.”Beckerman added TikTok “issued specialised steering to our groups on this violative content and proactively detected and eliminated content, together with movies, hashtags, and audio related to the development,” together with in search of spelling variants probably used to elude moderators, he stated.Snap Inc’s Jennifer Stout, vp of worldwide public coverage, stated in ready testimony that Snapchat is just not designed for content to go viral and is as a substitute centered on conversations between associates. Professionally created media content and sure tales which are spotlighted on the app are all vetted by human moderators.YouTube’s Leslie Miller, a vp of public affairs, was anticipated to assert the corporate strives to encourage wholesome habits, and to make sure that kids see solely age-appropriate materials. The firm has been accused of being a treasure trove of misinformation on all the things from politics to coronavirus vaccinations.The listening to is the newest a part of a prolonged inquiry into what lawmakers from each events see as Big Tech’s more and more unfavourable affect on competitors, society and youngsters.Reporting by Diane Bartz, Sheila Dang and David Shepardson; Editing by Howard GollerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

https://www.reuters.com/expertise/tiktok-be-congressional-hotseat-over-school-trashing-content-2021-10-25/