"We tend to think of censorship as the direct suppression of speech. We conjure images of mouths taped shut, courts seizing books and films, and journalists or activists thrown in jail to silence their voices. But what if, in a digital era governed by invisible yet highly consequential algorithms, censorship no longer revolved around the ability to speak, but rather around the visibility of content, its effective reach?"
"The launch of TikTok's new US-specific algorithm underscores the urgency of this risk. This week, control over the platform's operations has shifted to the TikTok USDS joint venture led by a consortium of investors that includes US big tech firms such as cloud-computing company Oracle, with the Chinese parent company ByteDance retaining a 19.9% stake. This arrangement is presented as a means of complying with US legislation introduced under former president Joe Biden, with the aim of protecting user data and preventing political interference from China."
TikTok's US algorithm control has moved to the TikTok USDS joint venture, led by a consortium including US tech firms such as Oracle while ByteDance keeps a 19.9% stake. The change is framed as compliance with US legislation to protect user data and prevent foreign political interference. Millions of US users worry that domestic actors could now manipulate algorithmic visibility to suppress politically sensitive voices. Users have reported videos under review, unusually low view counts, and keyword posting failures. California has called for an algorithm review and app-store data shows increased uninstalls. TikTok USDS denies political motivation for the disruptions.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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