TikTok launches data portability API ahead of European DMA regulation deadline

TikTok is introduce be Data portability API This is to help comply with new European regulations aimed at curbing Big Tech’s market dominance through various obligations and restrictions.
Last September, the European Union assigned six tech companies “gatekeeper” status, putting TikTok’s parent company ByteDance on the same list as Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft. TikTok/Byte Dance continue the contest The decision to grant gatekeeper status to the company argues that the company is actually a challenger rather than an incumbent, and for now the company must comply with various DMA obligations that come into effect after March 6. There is.
data transfer
Data portability and interoperability form a key part of the DMA regulation, and tech companies have been ramping up their efforts on this front for several years in preparation. TikTok, on its part, already allowed users to download copies of their posts and request copies of their data for use on other platforms, but this is a static process and data I didn’t take into account the fact that it was preserved. Always changing and refreshing.
So the Data Portability API addresses that limitation to some extent, allowing third-party developers to build a pipe to move data from TikTok to their own apps, if users allow it. It can be configured for periodic or one-time transfers and is designed to counter the traditional “walled garden” approach that social networks of yore were famous for.
Through the API, developers can request access to “all available data,” or individual categories such as TikTok posts and profile data, activity, and direct messages (DMs).
The Data Portability API is available to applicants worldwide, but developers must be able to demonstrate “well-defined use cases” before being approved. Additionally, APIs are only applicable to users within the European Economic Area (EEA), so developers must be able to differentiate market segments geographically.
In addition, TikTok said it has also revamped its main “data download” tool, allowing users to select the categories of data (such as DMs and posts) they want to download. This update will be delivered to the EEA first, but will be available worldwide in the future.