TikTok releases its data to US researchers for transparency

TikTok launches its search API in the US. This should help give a more accurate idea of ​​how the platform is being used.

TikTok has launched its search API and has begun giving more users access to its data as part of its “ongoing commitment to transparency and accountability,”ByteDance solemnly announced. The short video hosting app has been testing its API since late last year with the help of members of its security and content boards. Today, this API is available to researchers associated with non-profit US academic institutions.

TikTok launches its US search API

Applications submitted by interested universities and researchers must be approved by the U.S. Office of Data Security (USDS), a new subsidiary of TikTok created to meet the obligations of U.S. national security agencies. Those who are approved will have access to public information about the accounts and posts of app users, such as profile data, comments, likes, and favorites. The TikTok API can give researchers insight into how the younger generation is using the platform and provide an alternative, more global source of information. Other social networks already offer such search APIs, but in the case of Twitter, for example, you will soon have to pay to use them.

This should allow a more accurate overview of the use of the platform.

The service will allow deeper insights into the data as the company desperately tries to prove that it does not pose a threat to the country’s security. The company has spent years negotiating with the US government, but several states have recently banned the app from being installed on state-owned smartphones, and the threat of a total ban in the country is constant.