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TikTok launches new content classification system and tools to customize viewing experiences

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Dubai, UAE; 13 July 2022: TikTok has rolled out brand new features, technologies and a content classification system across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region that will help customize their viewing preferences, and continue to have a safe and entertaining experience on TikTok. 

With a truly diverse community that transcends generations and cultures, spanning from teens to grandparents and everyone in between. TikTok has always prioritised addressing the real challenges with these different audiences in mind by limiting features by age, empowering our community with content controls, and supporting families with parental controls.

A new tool to customize content

Part of what makes the TikTok experience unique is the ability for users to discover new interests, creators, and ideas. We design our recommendation system with safety in mind, since content in someone’s For You feed may come from a creator they prefer not to follow or relate to an interest they may not share. As an example, certain categories of content may be ineligible for recommendation, and viewers can use TikTok’s “not interested” feature to automatically skip similar videos in the future.

To further empower viewers with ways to customize their viewing experience, TikTok is rolling out a tool people can use to automatically filter out videos with words or hashtags they don’t want to see in their For You or Following feeds – whether because they’ve just finished a home project and no longer want DIY tutorials or they want to see fewer dairy or meat recipes as they move to more plant-based meals. This feature will be available to everyone in the coming weeks. 

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An update on our efforts to diversify recommendations

TikTok wants to play a positive role in the lives of the people who use the platform, and are committed to fostering an environment where people can express themselves on a variety of topics, while also protecting against potentially challenging or triggering viewing experiences. Last year TikTok began testing ways to avoid recommending a series of similar content on topics that may be fine as a single video but potentially problematic if viewed repeatedly, such as topics related to dieting, extreme fitness, sadness, and other well-being topics. They’ve also been testing ways to recognize if their system may inadvertently be recommending a narrower range of content to a viewer.

Introducing Content Levels to help further safeguard the viewing experience

TikTok’s introduction of a content classification system known as Content Levels stems from its commitment to foster a community environment where users can express themselves on a variety of topics, while also protecting against potentially challenging viewing experiences. Although TikTok’s Community Guidelines are central for setting the standards for what is and is not allowed on the platform, within these strict policies, TikTok understands that users may want to avoid certain categories of content based on their personal preferences. 

While further strengthening TikTok’s unique capability to provide users with the ability to discover new interests, creators, and ideas, the Content Levels system works to organise content based on thematic maturity. In the coming weeks, TikTok will begin to introduce an early version to help prevent content with overtly mature themes from reaching younger audiences between the ages of 13-17. If videos are detected to contain mature or complex themes, for example, fictional scenes that may be too frightening or intense for younger audiences, a maturity score will be allocated to the video to help prevent those between the ages of 13-17 from viewing it across the TikTok experience.

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The new Content Levels will help prevent content with mature themes from reaching younger audiences – similar to the way in which systems in the film industry, television, or gaming classify content function, but built for TikTok’s unique ecosystem. TikTok has first focused on further safeguarding the teen experience and in the coming months aims to add new functionality to provide detailed content filtering options for their entire community so users can enjoy more of what they love. Commenting on the new tools, Talal Al Fayez, Head of Public Policy, TikTok MENAT, said: “At TikTok, our constant endeavour is to enhance the experience and improve our safety systems so that our community can enjoy more of what they love with complete peace of mind. The introduction of Content Levels is a further step in that direction and reflects the maturing of TikTok as a safe and holistic platform for everyone to be creative and have fun. We understand that there can be some content that isn’t comfortable for everyone – our Content Levels and new algorithm features will reduce the likelihood that teens are exposed to content that isn’t appropriate for them to see. Along with new features, we promise to continually develop functionalities that pioneer new ways to deliver a positive and safe experience for all.”

Building for the needs of our community

TikTok’s focus remains to create the safest and most enjoyable experience for their community and will continue to listen to feedback from their community and continue consulting with independent experts.

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