TikTok: The Darkside of

Amber Richards

TikTok is a new app that was surveillance capitalism have relevance to this created by the Chinese company ‘ByteDance’ growing phenomenon? Is there a dark side of in 2017. The mobile video app allows users to TikTok that is collecting its user's upload short-form videos that are typically 15 to control and influence them for state power? seconds long and are commonly ‘funny Have unknowingly allowed ourselves to dances, physical stunts, short-form skits, and become the product in a consumer society? good-humored confessionals straight to These questions are what this paper seeks to camera’ (Long, 2020). TikTok is the fastest explore and reflect upon. growing app and is increasingly popular with young people as most users are teens; people Although only three years old, TikTok has over 20 are viewed as ‘old’ in the world of taken center stage in fears of concerns TikTok. The best representation for TikTok is and data collection, resulting in the app being Charli D’Amelio, an banned in India and American 16-year-old having caused ongoing who has gained fame debates in the UK and US. through sharing The controversy is a dancing videos and has consequence of Chinese become the first user to tech companies having reach 100 million been asked to hand over followers on the app. In their data to the a postmodern society government (Jackman, overcome with new 2020). The personal data media, Charli D’Amelio collected by TikTok, from can be deemed a martyr for new ICTs that its increasing number of encourage synoptic surveillance and the desire users, is a range of phone and to be watched. contacts, email addresses, IP address, location, and biometric data (Daily Telegraph, 2020). However, TikTok is a recently developed app Technological developments, such as facial that leaves a lot of questions unanswered. recognition, allows the state to build a Could there be something more sinister database of faces which can be used to predict beneath the surface of this funny video- crime by watching the population through sharing app that Charli D’Amelio and others CCTV surveillance systems. Surveillance is used consider to be empowering with their silly by the state to exclude those they do not want, dances and skits? What does TikTok tell us such as terrorists and protestors; facial about surveillance technologies in an recognition is a prominent technological information society? How does Matheison’s development that makes this possible. For the (1997) synopticon and Zuboff’s (2019) age of Chinese government to have a database of

billions of faces collected from TikTok, creates appeared. The synopticon is when the many danger for civilians that are deemed as a watch the few. We are increasingly living in ‘threat’ by the state (Lyon, 2010). what Mathiesen refers to as a ‘viewer society’ – the many can now watch the few because of TikTok’s controversy is stemmed from the fear developments in media that allow the many to of the Chinese government having access to surveil those in power and keep track of them billions of individuals personal data. Zuboff (1997; 219). In ’s book 1984, the (2019) discusses the ‘social credit’ systems panopticon and synopticon are described as created by the Chinese government that ‘Big Brother’ - “through a screen in your living produces a variety of rankings and lists that room you saw Big Brother, just as Big Brother prevent those with debt and other undesirable saw you” (Mathiesen, 1997; 223). When factors from being able to live freely and discussing TikTok, this is true. Users are accessibly (p. 390). This social credit system watching others through their phone screens, uses surveillance to control the population - but with facial recognition and front facing ‘the aim is the automation of society through cameras, are the viewers also being watched? tuning, herding and, conditioning people to produce preselected Webster (2006) argues behaviors judged as that the establishment desirable by the state and of information and thus able to Preempt communication instability’ (Zuboff, 2019; technologies (ICTs) p.389). By surveilling the have created a new population through type of ‘Information modern technologies such Society’ that has as TikTok, the state can developed since the identify those they want to industrial revolution. exclude from society, and There is a huge civilians they want to track. David Lyon (2010) amount of information today which we argues that the state uses surveillance to consume constantly in our daily lives. We now maintain control and power over its citizens by “inhabit a media-laden society” and are being able to watch them and collect their continuously surrounded by media that seek personal data. to influence us (Webster, 2006; p.19). Media and new information are everywhere because Foucault's theory of panopticon suggests we of new technological developments making it are being watched by the few in power, but we possible. TikTok is a perfect example of media cannot know when exactly we are being that produces a continuous stream of new surveilled, so we assume that we always are information that is in the simplest form to (1977). This results in us monitoring and consume. Users can scroll through TikTok and changing our behavior through self-discipline, watch hundreds of videos in minutes because to keep in line with what the state wants. The of the endless number of 15-second clips. Chinese government has been accused of Living in a contemporary culture that is using TikTok as a form of maintaining power ‘heavily information-laden' and a ‘media- through the panopticon, but TikTok itself has saturated environment,’ is what has made more relevance in terms of synoptic TikTok’s success possible (Webster, 2006; surveillance. Mathiesen (1997) developed the p.20). We are living in a culture of wanting to concept of synopticon from Foucault’s be watched even when doing menial activities panopticon to keep it relevant for new like ‘get ready with me’ and ‘what I eat in a day’ technological developments that have

videos, that are immensely popular on TikTok we are interested in – this is the basis of and receive millions of views and likes. Zuboff’s (2019) surveillance capitalism. Algorithms, like the one TikTok uses, aims to Algorithms are efficiently predicting our likes collect enough data on us to control and and dislikes through our internet usage, predict the media we use. Surveillance targeting us with consumer goods and then capitalism turns us into the product and selling these predictions to corporations. Our exploits us for profit (Zuboff, 2019; p.48). By behavior is now predicted and modified to find allowing corporations to collect and sell our our consumer habits and then this data is sold data, we have unintentionally commodified to the highest bidder – turning us into the ourselves and lost our autonomy. product. TikTok’s ‘ForYou’ page is unique for every user as it only This reflection has explored shows videos that TikTok in relation to theories the app believes of surveillance and has will entertain them. considered the dark side of This is possible new media. Although there because of their are positives to new endlessly working technological developments algorithm that is that allow apps like TikTok to making billions of exist, there are consequences calculations every that need to be discussed. second with the data that has been collected making the control it holds over us practically from users' preferences (Jackman, 2020). impossible to escape. TikTok is just one Zuboff, argues that corporations use example out of millions that use surveillance to surveillance to collect data on users that collect our data with the mission to control and produces an accurate model of who we are, exploit us. Many people are unaware of how and they use this to predict our preferences far these corporations go for our precious and habits (2019). Through TikTok’s ruthlessly data, but even when aware most people still efficient algorithm, the app is constantly abide to their privacy laws. We are trapped in predicting what videos users will enjoy, and a world of surveillance and life as a controls what content users see. Users lose commodified product, so we may as well enjoy their right to a future tense when they lose the it like Charli D’Amelio and millions of others ability to shape their own future – TikTok users who use apps like TikTok as a source of are controlled by their data and are no longer empowerment. autonomous individuals (Zuboff, 2019). Through algorithms and data mining, we the Bibliography: consumers are turned into the product. Caluya, G. (2010) ‘The post-panoptic society? Information we leave behind when surfing the Reassessing Foucault in surveillance studies’, web is collected by corporations such as Social Identities, 16(5), pp. 621–633. doi: Google that then use this data to produce an 10.1080/13504630.2010.509565. accurate model of who we are, and they use this to predict our preferences and habits Daily Telegraph (, ) (2020) (Hongladarom, 2020). By collecting our data ‘Tracing apps will prove pointless without a and making predictions, corporations can sell grown-up privacy debate; Activists’ fears over this to other corporations to make a profit. data surveillance have been undermined by Corporations buy the predictions so they can growing use of China’s TikTok’, 25 June. target us with appropriate adverts they know Available at:

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