TikTok is facing growing controversy after reports emerged that the short-form video platform conducted experiments on thousands of users in the U.S. involving so-called 'fake safety tools.' The experiments reportedly included children and teenagers.
According to Reuters, the New York Attorney General's office has raised allegations that TikTok conducted a 'placebo experiment'—referred to as a 'ghost experiment'—on thousands of users regarding its safety features.
The feature in question is the 'Algorithm Refresh,' which is designed to help users escape unwanted or harmful content by restarting TikTok's recommendation algorithm.
Users selected for the experimental group believed they had activated the feature, but their recommendation feeds did not change. In contrast, users who received the normal functionality saw changes in their feeds.
Reports indicate that TikTok repeated this experiment in 2023 to compare the time spent on the platform and advertising revenue between users who did not receive the safety feature and those who did. The aim was to assess the impact of the safety feature on user engagement and ad revenue.
Internally, some TikTok employees raised concerns about the experiment. A product manager for digital wellbeing expressed worries in internal discussions that having a placebo group contradicted the purpose of transparency and user control regarding the algorithm.
TikTok defended its practices, stating that testing new products and features in real-world environments is a standard procedure to validate user experience and functionality. The company also denied the Attorney General's claims, asserting that they mischaracterized the nature of the Algorithm Refresh feature and emphasized their commitment to prioritizing youth safety.
Previously, Bloomberg reported that TikTok conducted a separate experiment on about 10% of U.S. users, where safety measures to reduce exposure to harmful content were not applied. Internal documents indicated that approximately 15 million users were involved in this experiment, which included a 16-year-old from New York. During the experiment, the teenager's account was reportedly shown content related to suicide and self-harm, and it was later reported that the individual took their own life. However, no direct link between the experiment and the teenager's death has been confirmed.
On March 16, 2023, TikTok announced the 'Refresh your For You feed' feature, which was introduced to allow users to restart their 'For You' feed when they were dissatisfied with their recommendations or when certain content was repeatedly shown.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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