Four Corners: July 26

On Monday Four Corners, Avani Dias reports on data mining, discrimination and dangerous content on TikTok.

“TikTok has penetrated the cultural and social spheres in Australia, and you get a sense that TikTok is part of the zeitgeist.” Digital media researcher

TikTok is the phenomenally successful social media platform that has taken the world by storm. More than a billion users scroll through its endless feeds and it has turned everyday Australians into international stars.

“I think every young kid’s dream is to be successful online.” TikTok content creator

Famous for viral dance moves and comedy skits, the app has morphed into a platform that users anchor their lives around.

“It’s not an app on their phone anymore. It’s their livelihood. It’s how they communicate with their friends. It’s how they see the world. That’s a part that I don’t think everybody has adjusted to yet.” TikTok adviser

But there’s a dark side to the world’s most popular app. In a joint investigation by Four Corners and triple j Hack, disturbing evidence has been uncovered of how the app operates.

“TikTok isn’t out here to help people. I don’t think it’s come into the world with this intention of helping people.” TikTok user

In this eye-opening investigation, reporter Avani Dias travels down the TikTok rabbit hole to reveal the mechanics behind the app.

“If they’re going to make money off of something, then they will make money off of something. I think they maybe need to realise the impact that is having on people.” TikTok user

The program shows how dangerous and disturbing content is being served up to unwitting users with sometimes devastating consequences.

“I’d like to think that I wouldn’t have struggled with an eating disorder, if I hadn’t downloaded TikTok.” Eating disorder patient

The app’s appeal lies in its happy playful image but as this investigation shows, some users accuse the app of operating an inherently racist ‘feed’ that has seen people of colour and disability, effectively muted and marginalised for failing to meet the app’s view of perfection.

“It can be really disheartening to have your videos purposely suppressed.” TikTok content creator

Central to the app’s success is data mining, which enables TikTok to harvest vast amounts of information about its users.

“My claim with TikTok at the moment is that they are harvesting huge amounts of data illegally without the consent of children or their parents and they aren’t giving the right level of transparency about what happens to that data or actually what that data includes.” Fmr Children’s Commissioner

The investigation demonstrates the many techniques TikTok is using, including facial recognition, to know anything and everything about its users.

“Your face is a form of biometric information and your face can be analysed to distinguish a range of personality and demographic traits.” Behaviouralist

Owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, security analysts warn that countries need to take the national security implications of the data mining far more seriously.

“You never think about the Chinese government in Beijing having videos of you in your home, outside your home, at the park with your kids, knowing who your kids play with. That’s what they have now potentially with this data set.” National security analyst

Analysts say users need to look beyond the dance videos and recognise what’s going on behind the fun façade.

Monday 26th July at 8.30pm on ABC.