TikTok is launching new accessibility features to overcome language obstacles and grow worldwide.
TikTok Introduces a New Update that Defies Language Barriers
In order to overcome linguistic barriers and expand its content globally, TikTok is introducing a new set of accessibility capabilities. Users can quickly translate captions, stickers, and video descriptions thanks to the platform's new auto-caption tool and enhanced translation capability, which are also being rolled out.
The automatic captions option is self-explanatory; an algorithm will convert the audio to text if you enable it. That can be useful if your favorite TikTok creator speaks with a strong accent, but what about the Japanese chef you like but can't understand a word he says?
This is where the new translation features enter the picture. TikTok is now delivering a comprehensive translation suite, which includes a translation of the previously stated automatically generated captions, stickers, and video descriptions.
Additionally, TikTok also introduced automatically generated closed captions for specific videos on Thursday (July 21), the same day the new translation tools were released.
With the most recent accessibility upgrade, viewers may activate auto-captions for their videos, eliminating the need for producers to do so. The upgrade will increase TikToks' accessibility to the hard-of-hearing population and was developed in partnership with a captioning advocacy group, the Deaf Collective.
Most users have access to the feature within a month after TikTok's initial announcement of auto-captions in April 2021. However, before this, customers concerned about accessibility mostly used the text tool and third-party captioning software.
If the update hasn't yet shown in your app, don't panic. In the upcoming months, TikTok intends to increase availability.
Read Also: TikTok Becomes a Platform for Deepfakes | Here's How to Spot Them
After Receiving Regulatory Attention, TikTok Halted its New Privacy Policy in Europe
On July 12, the well-known video-sharing service TikTok decided to put on hold a contentious privacy policy change that may have allowed it to show users targeted adverts based on their behavior on the social video platform without their consent.
The modification was reversed, according to TechCrunch, a day after the firm received a warning about it from the Garante for la Protezione dei Dati Personali in Italy over potential infringement of data privacy regulations.
The halt comes after an engagement on July 11, according to the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), TikTok's principal privacy regulator for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union.
A privacy policy modification that stated the site had previously asked for users' "permission" to their on- and off-TikTok behavior to provide tailored adverts prompted the official warning. It aimed to cease requesting users' permission in order to profile their behavior and use personal data as a consequence.
Privacy experts have also questioned the validity of TikTok utilizing a legitimate interest basis to conduct behavioral advertising.
Users who live in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, and Switzerland are affected by the modification to its targeted advertising settings.
The Garante said it launched a fact-finding exercise and noted that the proposed policy changes are incompatible with the Italian personal data protection law and the E.U. ePrivacy Directive, which regulates cookie usage, email marketing, data minimization, and other aspects of data privacy by requiring a user's consent before processing such information.
