TikTok to Label AI-Generated Content from External Sources

TikTok has announced its plans to implement a new feature that will tag content generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) when it is uploaded from sources outside its platform. This decision is part of TikTok's broader commitment to combat the spread of misinformation on its social media platform.

Protecting Users from Misinformation

"AI enables amazing creative opportunities, but it can also cause confusion or mislead users if they're unaware that the content was generated by AI," TikTok stated in a press release. To maintain transparency, TikTok has decided to label AI-generated content (AIGC), a practice that they have been encouraging for realistically generated AIGC for over a year.

Industry-Wide Effort for AI Transparency

The initiative to label AI content aligns with the wider technological industry’s efforts to safeguard the use of AI. Tech giants like Meta and Google have revealed similar moves, with Meta focusing on identification standards for AI-generated images and Google planning to introduce AI labels on YouTube and other platforms. Moreover, the push for digital watermarking and AI content labeling was echoed in an executive order signed by US President Joe Biden in October.

TikTok’s Collaboration and Future Plans

TikTok is partnering with the Content Authenticity and Provenance Coalition, employing its Content Credentials technology to tag AI content effectively. The technology will attach metadata to content that facilitates instant recognition and labeling. TikTok began using this technology for images and videos, and will soon extend it to audio content.

Content Credentials will be attached to material created on TikTok, remaining with the content even upon download, which will help identify AI-generated content originating from TikTok and inform users about the content’s origin and editing details. Platforms adopting Content Credentials will be able to automatically label content. Additionally, TikTok will join the Content Authenticity Initiative spearheaded by Adobe to drive industry-wide adoption of these credentials.

TikTok, AI, misinformation