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ByteDance-owned Douyin sheds light on recommendation algorithm amid regulatory pressure
The Chinese version of TikTok has launched a special website that explains how the app recommends and ‘moderates’ content for its users
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Coco Fengin Guangdong
ByteDance-owned Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, has moved to address the public’s concerns over the domestic short video platform’s powerful recommendation system.
Douyin recently launched a special website, 95152.douyin.com, that explains how the app recommends and “moderates” content for its more than 600 million daily active users, months after internet watchdog the Cyberspace Administration of China launched a campaign to address the misuse of algorithms by domestic online platforms.
Algorithms essentially serve as “a mathematical modelling process” to establish “correlations between user behaviour and content features, rather than understanding the content itself”, according to the website.
It said algorithms track users’ behaviour – including likes, follows, shares and the period of time one watches a video – to predict their preferences.
The website also pointed out that the app does not spy on its users. It acknowledged, however, that users may sometimes feel they are being monitored in cases where they search for a certain item – pet food, for example – on one app and then see automated digital advertisements about it when using another platform.
The special website’s content reflects the efforts being made by Douyin, along with competitors Kuaishou Technology and Tencent Holdings, to make online recommendation systems more transparent amid the government’s crackdown on the misuse of algorithms by platforms frequently used by the public.
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