Academic Articles

The TikTok Takeover – Surveillance Capitalism, an Assault on Democracy and Human Rights

The rapid growth of social media platforms over the past decade has revolutionised how users engage with information, communicate with peers, and participate in public discourse.

2023-10-01

Introduction

The rapid growth of social media platforms over the past decade has revolutionised how users engage with information, communicate with peers, and participate in public discourse. Over the past few years, TikTok has become one of the most prominent and successful social media platforms that have engrossed billions of users. However, masked under the expertly choreographed dances and captivating videos lies a complex web of social, democratic, and human rights implications stemming from TikTok's ‘surveillance capitalism’ model. This essay critically analyses the impact due to the suppression of marginalised groups' content and the manipulation of user behaviour through curated algorithms. The commodification of user data under the ‘surveillance capitalism’ model and the undermining of democracy through misinformation are highlighted in this essay. Finally, the essay explores three key recommendations to address the concerns of undermined democracy and human rights violations by evaluating platform design and moderation tools, critiquing the interpretation and ruling of the Bill of Rights, and holding Big Tech companies legally accountable by regulating them as publishers.

Media Convergence & The Rise of TikTok

Social media is a set of computer-network-based tools that allows user communication and interaction. Through the mediums of social networking apps and sites, blogs, multiplayer games and many more, social media has brought about significant cultural and social development by transforming broadcast (one-to-many) into dialogue (many-to-many) (Hansen et al., 2020). Raymond William's explanation of social change brought about by the development of technology and the introduction of television highlights the impact of technological development on the mode of media consumption, both exploiting and serving the atomised society. (Williams, 1974, pp. 9-12). In his book Technologies of Freedom (1983), Pool first described the 'Convergence of Modes' phenomenon, where the lines between media and point-to-point communication are blurred (Pool, 2009). Henry Jenkins further elaborates on the topic of convergence and argues that media convergence is more than a technological shift; it is the alteration of relationships between existing technologies, industries, markets, genres, and audiences as the lines between producer and consumer in the context of current social media are blurred (Jenkins, 2006, pp. 15-16).

Looking at top-performing social media platforms with some of the highest active users, TikTok caught the attention of media coverage and academic scholar alike in 2018. With the successful launch of Douyin (TikTok's sister app) in China in 2016, ByteDance (TikTok's Parent Company) launched an international version of the sensational video-sharing app TikTok to the global market in 2017 (Kaye et al., 2021). TikTok has established itself as one of the most prominent social media platforms in our current age, surpassing Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Youtube in downloads in 2018 and surpassing the billion-app download mark in 2020 (Paul, 2022).

Is Your Data at Risk?

Strategic acquisitions, algorithmic features, and the by-products of the Covid-19 Pandemic all played vital roles in the success of TikTok. However, the secret to TikToks success in user engagement and retention lies in the proprietary recommendation system that turned the For You Page (FYP) of TikTok into one of the most addictive scrolling experiences on any major social platform (Zeng et al., 2021). TikTok's privacy policy on its website lists that it collects information such as users' IP addresses, mobile carriers, time and zone settings, location, device model, keystroke patterns, audio settings, battery status, login locations, contact information, messages within the app, and many more (TikTok, 2023). However, the concern with TikTok is that, unlike most social media platforms, TikTok shares a large proportion of user data with third parties, and it is unclear where the majority of the collected data goes (Zulkifli, 2022).

Data surveillance conducted by social media platforms like TikTok has established systemic monitoring, collection, and analysis of individual data to extract valuable insights and patterns. Due to the vast array of user data collected since its launch, TikTok has been surrounded by political conflict from various governments worldwide due to the Chinese ownership of the application and controversy surrounding user data storage and ethics (Zeng et al., 2021). As a result, following the 2020 border dispute between India and China, the Indian government banned the application due to national security concerns (Abi-Habib, 2020). The same year saw similar bans discussed in Australia and the UK, and drastic measures such as banning the application by an executive order by then-president Donald Trump (O'Malley, 2020; Singh, 2020; Taylor, 2020).

Everything Wrong with Data Surveillance

4.1. Suppression – Autonomy of Marginalised Groups; Lost in The Public Sphere

Firstly, one of the significant social implications of human rights violations is suppressing the voices of marginalised communities in the 'public sphere' by TikTok.. Using the proprietary recommendation algorithm to promote and suppress content from creators based on company moderation can only be understood as a violation of freedom of expression. The theory of the public sphere developed by Jürgen Habermas provides a necessary insight towards the social implications arising from TikTok's user suppression tactics. Habermas argues that a public sphere is a realm of our social life in which public opinion can be formed, where people convene unrestrictedly, with the freedom of association, expression, and to publish their views (Habermas et al., 1974). With billions of active users, suppressing the content of specific groups of individuals inhibits open dialogue. It restricts users' autonomy and freedom of accessing and exploring various views, ideologies, and cultures.

The public disclosure of policies that suppressed content created by users categorised under 'autistic', 'Down syndrome', 'disabled', 'facial disfiguration and birthmarks', 'fat', or users that had any identifiers of LGBTQIA identifiers, by a TikTok spokesperson shows a clear violation of Human rights (Botella, 2019). In addition, during the 2020 spike in TikTok usage and the height of #BlackLivesMatter campaigns, TikTok has been criticised for suppressing content from black creators addressing social and racial justice (Mitchell, 2021). The suppression and restriction of dialogue from creators of certain races or sexual identifiers being discriminated against on how their content can be accessed prevent society from collectively deliberating and engaging in social justice and political reform through the public sphere created by TikTok (Habermas et al., 1974).

4.2.Manipulation – Are Your Choices Made by You or AI?

Secondly, manipulating users through data surveillance and curated algorithms to increase engagement and user retention in the app raises concerns regarding violating users' autonomy and freedom of thought. Over 40% of US users are aged between 16 and 29, and using manipulative methods to increase user engagement and retention has caused severe TikTok addiction among users (Atske, 2021). The algorithm used by TikTok focuses on the time spent by a user on each video and user interactions such as likes, comments, playtimes, creator quality and publish rates in finetuning the algorithm to effectively continue showing videos that will guarantee a higher likelihood of user engagement and retention (Raden, 2023).

Adorno and Horkheimer argue that social media platforms no longer attempt to conceal their structure and identity; they are nothing, but businesses used as an ideology to legitimise the trash they intentionally produce (Horkheimer & Adorno, 2002). Artificial Intelligence supporting the algorithm has developed exponentially over the past few years, and it can predict a user's behaviour and understand users better than they do themselves. The issue of TikTok addiction has become so severe that media reporters have referred to TikTok as providing 'digital crack cocaine' to kids to increase retention (Naughton, 2022). Since these features exploit users' vulnerabilities and manipulate their behaviour, it raises concerns about potentially violating privacy, autonomy, and freedom of thought.

4.3. ‘Surveillance Capitalism’ – From Customer to Product

Third, TikTok's 'surveillance capitalism' model has raised significant concerns surrounding the commodification of users' data. The arguments made by Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer in their theories of political economy and 'culture industry' claims that through a cycle of manipulative and retroactive fulfilment of a consumer need, a standardised form of product and consumer are created with very little resistance (Horkheimer & Adorno, 2002). Shoshana Zuboff provides further elaboration and clarity through her explanation of 'surveillance capitalism' used as a business model by social media companies through the process of; collecting and analysing user data to create algorithms that can predict users' behaviour and emotions and commodifying user data to show advertisements relevant and a higher likelihood of engagement by the user (Zuboff, 2019).

Research conducted by The Guardian reported that within a week, TikTok's algorithm could identify a user's religion, living situation, location and family orientation and show curated content that users identified with (Paul et al., 2022). The form in which these media are constructed trains the consumer to identify with it, losing all sense of imagination and spontaneity, thus producing a consumer, even in a state of distraction, to continue to alertly consume and scroll endlessly (Horkheimer & Adorno, 2002). The result of this is what we today observe as a homogenised and standardised group of consumers that jump from one trend to another mindlessly. The consequences of these actions result in the homogenisation of public discourse, hindering democratic participation and pluralism, multiple counts of human rights violations, and ethical and moral concerns.

4.4. Exploitation – Surveillance Capitalism and Misinformation; The Downfall of Democracy

Finally, the most severe implication due to 'surveillance capitalism' conducted by TikTok lies in undermining democracy through disseminating misinformation and psychological manipulation. The collective actions of manipulating users through adaptive algorithms, commodifying user data, and suppressing and promoting content based on pre-determined moderator policies have raised concerns about manipulation and legitimacy in coming elections (Paul, 2022). Hall argues that for content created to be perceived as a meaningful discourse and meaningfully decoded, the produced content contains a set of encoded meanings intended to be decoded and influence, entertain, persuade, and instruct with severe cognitive, emotional, and behavioural consequences on the receiver (Hall, 2018). As a result of homogenised and standardised products and consumers, social platforms like TikTok have embedded a construct of cultural, political and institutional norms and ideologies within its users through the process of encoding and decoding its content (Hall, 2018; Horkheimer & Adorno, 2002).

By exploiting the 'surveillance capitalism' model, misinformation has become an issue of significance impacting the democratic function of countries globally. A study conducted by global witness found that TikTok, which did not allow campaign ads, published over 90% of the false and misleading advertisements sent to review by the research group (Global Witness, 2022). Misinformation posted on TikTok has been found to range from wrong election dates, false voting requirements and rhetoric dissuading people against voting (Global Witness, 2022). A recent Pew Research Centre Report highlighted that 67% of US teens aged 14-17 are active on TikTok daily, and over 40% rely on TikTok to engage with news (Atske, 2022). The algorithmic content curation and the promotion and suppression of content by TikTok results in fragmentation and polarisation of society, creating a 'consensus culture' due to users mapping and decoding curated connotations meant to ignite conflict and undermine the legitimacy of democracy (Hall, 2018; Jenkins, c2006; Paul, 2022).

Recommendations

On March 23, 2023, TikTok's CEO Shou Zi Chew had his first appearance in Congress, where he was questioned regarding TikTok's relationship with China, user data privacy and protection concerns for the application's younger users (Paul & Bhuiyan, 2023). To address the concerns of undermining democracy and national security, user privacy and data rights, and human rights violations through manipulation and suppression; this essay highlights three recommendations that can be adapted to address these issues.

5.1. Technological Solution

Firstly, concerns surrounding the suppression of unfavourable videos for the Chinese government, such as China's persecution of Uighur Muslims and the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, were denied by TikTok CEO Mr Chew, despite leaked documents in 2019 proving the allegations true (Hern & editor, 2019; Staff, 2023). Much research argues that platform design and affordance through embedding user data encryption and AI based on fully automated moderation software can significantly address the issues involving moderation and content suppression (Kuehn & Salter, 2020).

5.2. Legal Solution

Secondly, concerns regarding user data privacy and security by Congress were responded to by Mr Chew, highlighting that US user data are stored and secured under 'Project Texas' with the contraction of Oracle Corp and 1500 full-time employees (Shepardson & Ayyub, 2023). These concerns can be further addressed by revising the interpretations and judicial reasoning of past supreme court misinterpretations resulting in the extension of the Bill of Rights (eight of the first ten amendments) to corporations (Onsrud & Campbell, 2020). The progressive extension of the corporate right of 'free speech' over citizens' constitutional right to privacy requires revision and reinterpretation to ensure users' digital human rights.

5.3. Accountability & Repercussions

Finally, addressing the concerns of US national security and democracy, Mr Chew responded to Congress that ByteDance "is not owned or controlled by the Chinese government" and that the Chinese government does not have access to US user data (Staff, 2023). Digital threats to democracy and national security can be further addressed by holding Big Tech monopolies legally accountable for the information published and following through with legal repercussions (Kuehn & Salter, 2020). Regulating social media companies as publishers or media companies can force platforms to become socially responsible and lays the necessary groundwork for drafting regulatory laws on user data and privacy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, by analysing the implications on democracy, national security, and human rights violations due to the 'surveillance capitalism' business model adopted by TikTok, we gain insight into the uniquely 21st-century quality of power held by TikTok, as unprecedented as totalitarianism was nearly a century ago. The analysis of the social implications of TikTok reveals the loss of autonomy of marginalised groups in the public sphere and the manipulation of users through content manipulation and suppression through data surveillance and adaptive algorithms. Moreover, by upholding the 'surveillance capitalism business model, the commodification of user data and the spread of misinformation through curated algorithms holds significant challenges to the legitimacy of elections and democratic action of society. Nevertheless, through collective action and informed policymaking, we can navigate the challenges of surveillance capitalism and shape a more equitable and democratic digital future.