Is TikTok turning on its customers? 

The video sharing platform has an office in Dublin and last year had over two million Irish users. 

The app was only founded in 2016 but has since seen rapid global growth - becoming the world’s most downloaded social media app in 2022. 

On The Pat Kenny Show, Newstalk Tech Correspondent Jess Kelly asked whether the platform’s focus has shifted from attracting users to making money from them.

“Initially, when these companies come to the fore, they’re looking to bring in customers,” she said. 

“There’s a wow factor, you’re getting something from these companies as a consumer. 

“Then as a business, you’re seeing that all these consumers are using the business [and think], ‘Maybe I should advertise my business or put my products on this service. 

“Then, over time, the model shifts and it moves away from being a fantastic place for the consumer because it’s catering too much to the businesses and from the businesses’ point of view, their eyes are on the next iteration of the younger companies that are coming through to try and keep that steady flow of companies coming through.” 

A boy holds a smartphone with the TikTok logo on the screen. Picture by: dpa picture alliance / Alamy Stock Photo

The invention of social media has allowed millions to become ‘influencers’ - finding money and fame through the creation of content.

The biggest users can earn millions - but is this sometimes more a matter of favouritism than actual talent? 

An investigation by Forbes magazine claimed that TikTok is boosting the videos of favoured users and ensuring that those it does not like get minimal attention. 

The process is called ‘heating’ and the company denies it takes place. 

“They found this based on internal documents and speaking to members of staff and this really illustrates the point; you have content creators and influencers who use the platform,” Jess said. 

“They start doing brand deals with big important companies and making a bit of money and TikTok sees this. 

“They want that brand to spend more money on their platform, so they can ‘heat’ or boost that one video so that the influencer can go back to the brand and say, ‘I’m after getting a million views, it’s fantastic.’

“That encourages the brand to spend more money on other influencers on the platform but there’s no guarantee that the other influencers that come down the line will get their videos ‘heated’ and go viral. 

“So, there’s allegations of dodgy dealings and there’s a lot of conversations about whether you can believe the digital reports stats. 

“Everyone claims to have the number one podcast in Ireland, everyone claims to go viral on Twitter, on Instagram - whatever it is.” 

Main image: A TikTok user.