To be more transparent, TikTok will now share public data on content and accounts on its platform with more academic researchers.
On Tuesday, the popular social video app said it's accepting applications to use its research API from researchers working with US nonprofit academic institutions. TikTok perviously announced its research API, but it was initially open only to a group of experts on the app's Content and Safety Advisory Councils.
TikTok said on its website that the data will eventually become available to researchers globally. Researchers from non-US institutions can apply now, but their applications won't be processed until the project expands to non-US regions.
This is just one step TikTok is taking to boost transparency as it faces increasing scrutiny in the US. Politicians and other officials have raised concerns that the video app, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, could pose threats to national security, including that the app could give the Chinese government access to US user data. Some states have banned the app from state-run devices and networks.
TikTok has repeatedly said it doesn't share user data with the Chinese government, and last year it partnered with Oracle to store US data on cloud servers located in the US.
Researchers interested in getting access to TikTok's API need to set up a developer account with a .edu email address in order to submit an application.