TikTok’s For You Page (FYP) is the default home screen for users of the video-sharing platform. It’s a personalized, algorithmically driven content feed, but the approach differs from other social networks in that TikTok’s algorithm relies heavily on implicit signals, such as how long users watch particular videos, as well as explicit signals such as likes or followers. And in general, that algorithm works remarkably well at predicting which videos will interest specific users.
But some users have expressed concern that TikTok’s all-powerful algorithm doesn’t seem to incorporate negative comments very well. Even when they don’t watch a suggested video or click the “not interested” feature, they still see those videos in their FYP. Computer scientists at Northwestern University put those suspicions to the test. According to their recent paper, interaction cues have an effect, but only temporarily. The algorithm then gradually degrades unless a user consistently provides the same answer over and over again.
The research group specializes in “algorithm audits,” co-author Piotr Sapiezynski told Ars, to better understand online platforms: “how they work, how they fail, when they fail, how they harm individuals and societies.” In this case, he and his co-authors wanted to take a closer look at user agency after hearing multiple anecdotal reports from TikTok users that their negative comments (responding to prompts indicating they’re not interested or want to watch less of a certain type of video) don’t seem to remove those posts from their FYP. “On the other hand, it’s not clear why platforms offer it if it doesn’t work,” says Sapiezynski.
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