Oracle is checking TikTok algorithms for spying

• Cloud giant Oracle has started checking TikTok’s algorithms to make sure they are not being changed by the Chinese government.
• TikTok moved US user data to Oracle servers in San Francisco to prevent data manipulation.

Oracle has started checking the algorithms of the popular social media site TikTok to make sure they are not being changed by the Chinese government.

According to Axios, the US cloud giant has begun reviewing TikTok’s algorithms and content control processes following worries about collaboration between the Chinese government and TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance.

Concerns about eavesdropping and manipulation led TikTok to move the data of its American users to servers run by Oracle US.

A spokeswoman told Axios that Oracle will perform “regular vetting and validation” of TikTok’s content recommendation and moderation techniques.

According to reports, TikTok bans or removes videos critical of the Chinese government or those mention Tibetan independence or the Tiananmen Square massacre.

A representative said that Oracle will assess how TikTok’s algorithms surface material “to verify results are in line with expectations and models haven’t been altered.”

Oracle’s visibility “will ensure that content continues to be flagged and actioned appropriately based on our Community Guidelines and no other factors.”

TikTok is trying to reassure the US authorities about user data manipulation.

The Trump administration has taken a hard approach against TikTok and ByteDance, with a 2020 judgement by a US national security tribunal ordering the business to relinquish their US operations.

The Biden administration has worked with the business, which has launched Project Texas to convince US lawmakers that user data is safe.

TikTok has isolated its US backend functionality and code as part of Project Texas.

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