TikTok on Thursday announced it would begin automatically labeling artificial intelligence-generated content (AIGC) uploaded from other platforms in an expansion of its auto-labeling efforts.
TikTok said it is the first video-sharing platform to implement Content Credentials technology developed by the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA). Content Credentials attach metadata to content, which TikTok will be able to use to label AIGC content uploaded from other platforms.
The new auto-labeling began Thursday on images and videos, and will roll out to audio-only content soon, the company said.
TikTok also said it would begin attaching Content Credentials to TikTok content in the coming months. The Content Credentials will remain attached to the content when downloaded, so anyone will be able to use C2PA’s Verify tool to identify AIGC created on TikTok. If other platforms adopt Content Credentials, they will also be able to label AIGC content from TikTok.
The Content Credentials can also reveal when, where and how the content was made or edited.
TikTok said the appearance of the labels may be slow at first, because other platforms have not yet adopted Content Credentials. To spur wider adoption, the company said it is joining the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) led by Adobe.
“With TikTok’s vast community of creators and users globally, we are thrilled to welcome them to both the C2PA and CAI as they embark on the journey to provide more transparency and authenticity on the platform,” Dana Rao, General Counsel and Chief Trust Officer at Adobe, said in a statement. “At a time when any digital content can be altered, it is essential to provide ways for the public to discern what is true.”
TikTok also announced that it is working with experts to develop media literacy campaigns to educate users about AIGC and misinformation.
The platform will release a series of 12 videos in partnership with MediaWise, a program of the Poynter Institute, “that highlight universal media literacy skills while explaining how TikTok tools like AIGC labels can further contextualize content.”
A separate campaign will focus “AI labeling and potentially misleading AIGC,” in a series of videos developed with expert input from Witness, an organization that develops tools for citizen video journalists and teaches people the basic skills of citizen journalism, including video production and ethical filming techniques.
“Our Teen Fact-Checking Network has built an audience with innovative media literacy videos on TikTok since 2019,” said Alex Mahadevan, Director of MediaWise. “Five years later, we’re thrilled to empower even more people to separate fact from fiction online.”
TikTok says that while “most people want to enjoy AI-generated content responsibly,” some bad actors will use AIGC to try to deceive others. TikTok policies prohibit “harmfully misleading AI-generated content” whether it’s labeled or not, and the company said it remains “vigilant against those risks.”
Story via TMX