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How does TikTok really work? We still don’t know and that’s a problem
Transparency can help win users’ trust and put to rest calls for a ban
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Because TikTok probably has little to hide about its technology, it should redouble its efforts to show us there’s nothing mysterious about its maths, says the writer.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Mark Cenite
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In March, TikTok chief executive Chew Shou Zi won fans in his native Singapore for grace under pressure
American xenophobia may have played a role, but congressional hostility reflects a more persistent concern: a perception, not limited to America, that TikTok lacks transparency. Questions endure about the algorithm, content moderation, data privacy and security – and whether Mr Chew or TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, is ultimately in charge.
