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What We Want To See and What We Need To See

-- By RochishaTogare - 06 Dec 2021

From the moment you download and open TikTok? , the algorithm is watching what you watch. How long you spend on a video before scrolling, how you interact with the video, what videos you skip and what videos you share—everything is used to create your “ForYouPage.” And this isn’t unique to TikTok? .

YouTube? does the same in order to develop your Recommended Videos page. Turned off browsing and search history on the platform? It’s not going to change much; your IP address, your watch-time, your interactions, and the interactions of those connected with you, are all still tracked and analyzed. Furthermore, Alphabet, YouTube? ’s parent company that also owns Google and the broader suite of G-products like Gmail and GDrive, scans your emails, tracks your search history, and traces your metaphorical internet footprints to ensure you have the “best viewing experience.”

“It’s OK, it’s anonymous.”

When questioned as to why and how it’s okay for social media platforms to be tracking user data as closely as they do, there are two common responses.

The first response is that it’s anonymized data. Anonymized data is data the can’t be linked to the user it’s from. Much of the modern world runs on this anonymized data, and while it is true that individual data isn’t usually used to track back to a user, the various pieces of data collected from a user can eventually be used to build a profile that is akin to human DNA—just without the name attached.

Curated but not curated

Many platforms get out of being liable by arguing that they don't have a responsibility to a user's content, as they are not editing or curating, but are simply publishers of content. Different from the past when, as in the context of newspapers, curators, editors, and publishers were largely one and the same, modern laws provide platforms safe harbor from their users' actions. That is, Facebook is not liable for the content posted on its platform, and neither are TikTok? , Instagram, Snapchat, Youtube, or any other social media platform. As of now, there isn't a clear liability for the way companies use advertising to contact users, and similarly, beyond standard advertising laws, these platforms terms and conditions allow anonymized but otherwise individual data to be used to target users in this manner.

Solution

One possible solution to this problem is to place liability on the intent of the algorithm being used. Algorithms meant to help with ease of use in connecting friends with friends, or building local relationships, versus algorithms in place to produce targeted advertising and political influence. Such determinations will undeniably require case-by-case analyses. In the end, I believe we must come up with some sort of solution to, legally or otherwise, to categorize and regulate the influence social media, AI, and internet data undeniably have over our lives.

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