Researchers Face Hurdles in Analyzing TikTok Data Due to Stringent Terms of Service
As TikTok's popularity continues to surge, researchers from esteemed academic institutions have expressed their reluctance to study user activities on the platform due to the app's stringent terms of service regarding data access, according to a report in Bloomberg. While TikTok is in the process of opening its application programming interface (API) to researchers for data analysis, the strict terms and conditions associated with this access have deterred academics from embracing them. This situation raises concerns, as competing platforms are also imposing restrictions on data review and charging for access to their APIs.
Social scientists believe that gaining access to TikTok is essential for understanding the platform's impact on various issues, such as elections, public health messaging, or the spread of misinformation. Researchers have used social media conversations to identify inaccurate polling information that dissuaded voters and to help local governments communicate more effectively with the public during natural disasters like Hurricane Idalia.
However, TikTok's rules for academic research are proving to be challenging. Academics must provide advanced notice of their research, allow the company to review papers before publication, and delete certain data after its use, among other requirements. Researchers argue that these terms could hinder their efforts, with some requirements being more demanding than those of rival platforms such as Google's YouTube, Meta’s Facebook, and Twitter, now known as X. TikTok's unique level of scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers, who are concerned about the potential transfer of US user data to the Chinese government, may explain the strict terms.
Critics argue that the terms of service require researchers to refresh their data sets every 15 days, a more frequent requirement than those of YouTube and X. Additionally, researchers are obliged to delete some data after using it, which may be problematic for replication purposes.
TikTok claims that its data review process is intended to check for personal data that should be removed and does not grant the platform editorial control over research publication.
Academics from leading institutions have been engaging with TikTok over the past several months, urging the company to loosen its terms of service. However, there has been no status update from TikTok on these discussions.
While TikTok has received over 160 applications from researchers in the US and Europe to access its data, the platform's API still does not provide all the data researchers may require. For example, it does not offer access to friend lists or information about whether a video was a "stitch," a feature similar to a quote repost on Twitter, despite this data being available on other platforms like Twitter and Mastodon.
