TikTok Implements New AI Content Labeling System

Embattled social media platform, TikTok announced on Thursday that it will start labeling content created using AI that has been uploaded from external sources. This initiative is part of a broader effort within the tech industry to implement more robust safeguards around AI usage.

The company stated that AI presents vast creative opportunities, but it can also lead to confusion or misinformation if viewers are unaware that the content they are seeing is AI-generated. “Labeling helps make that context clear — which is why we label AIGC made with TikTok AI effects and have required creators to label realistic AIGC for over a year,” the company stated.

This policy shift aligns with actions taken by other tech giants. For example, in February, Meta disclosed its collaboration with industry partners to develop technical standards that would facilitate easier identification of AI-generated images and plans to extend this to video and audio.

Similarly, Google announced last year that AI labels would soon appear on YouTube and its other platforms. Such measures are also supported by governmental actions, like the digital watermarking and labeling directive in the executive order signed by U.S. President Joe Biden last October.

TikTok’s latest strategy involves partnering with the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity to employ their Content Credentials technology. This allows the attachment of metadata to digital content, enabling instant recognition and labeling of AI-generated material.

Starting Thursday, TikTok began deploying this technology across images and videos, with plans to extend it to audio-only content shortly. Over the coming months, TikTok will attach Content Credentials to all submissions on its platform, ensuring these labels remain even when content is downloaded.

This feature aims to help users identify AI-generated material created on TikTok and understand the origins and modifications of the content. Platforms adopting Content Credentials will automatically have the capability to label such content.

Claire Leibowicz, head of the AI and Media Integrity Program at the Partnership on AI, praised this initiative. “Using Content Credentials as a way to identify and convey synthetic media to audiences directly is a meaningful step towards AI transparency, even more so than typical watermarking techniques,” she explained.

Leibowitz also emphasized the importance of monitoring user reactions to these labels to better understand public navigation of an AI-augmented reality. As the first video-sharing platform to implement these credentials, TikTok is also joining the Adobe-led Content Authenticity Initiative to promote industry-wide adoption.

“With over 170 million users in the United States alone, TikTok’s platform and its vast community of creators and users are an essential piece of that chain of trust needed to increase transparency online,” stated Dana Rao, Adobe’s executive vice president.

Adam Presser, TikTok’s Head of Operations & Trust and Safety, highlighted the enthusiasm within the TikTok community towards AI. “Our users and our creators are so excited about AI and what it can do for their creativity and their ability to connect with audiences. And at the same time, we want to make sure that people have that ability to understand what fact is and what is fiction,” he told ABC News.

This announcement comes amid legal challenges faced by TikTok, following a new American law that could potentially ban the platform unless it’s sold to an approved buyer. TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, have filed a lawsuit challenging the law, marking another chapter in the ongoing legal battles over the platform’s future in the U.S.