TikTok’s rules deter researchers from crunching data on users, misinformation

TikTok is in the process of making its application programming interface, or API, open to researchers to analyse data on the platform. But the terms of service are so strict, academics at leading institutions say they’re hesitant to accept them. — AP

As TikTok gets more popular, researchers at leading academic institutions want to study what users are doing there. Publicly, the company says it’s open to this, and is partnering with academics. But researchers said so far, the video app’s rules about data are too burdensome.

TikTok is in the process of making its application programming interface, or API, open to researchers to analyse data on the platform. But the terms of service are so strict, academics at leading institutions say they’re hesitant to accept them. The difficulty in researching TikTok comes as competing platforms also are making it more difficult to review their data and are starting to charge for access to their APIs.