A TikTok A/B Test Proves It Is Responsible for What Users See

In 2023, Bloomberg Businessweek asked TikTok for comment as it reported out a story about users who were recommended videos about self-harm and suicide, particularly teenagers like Chase Nasca. It is a difficult read. As a result of this press outreach, TikTok analyzed Nasca’s account and why he was given so much of this material that it likely played a role when he took his own life at just sixteen years old. Olivia Carville, of Bloomberg Businessweek, recently obtained that internal report: Chase’s account was stuck in a so-called filter bubble, an online echo chamber that pumped out repetitive content the algorithm predicted he’d want to watch. There he received an “onslaught” of suicide and self-harm content, according to the document. Because Chase was in the control group, it says, “TikTok’s filter bubble prevention strategies did not take effect on this user by design.” Those two words, “by design,” carry extra weight against the backdrop of litigation over social media…