ByteDance vows to crack down on unethical clickbait

(ECNS) -- An all-hands meeting of ByteDance, the owner of popular short-video app Douyin and news aggregator Toutiao, announced that their key priorities this year will focus on AI development, e-commerce growth, and enhancing corporate image, with a strong emphasis on combating unethical clickbait practices.

ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo, CFO Gao Zhun, HR head Hua Wei, e-commerce business lead Kang Zeyu, AI division head Zhu Wenjia, and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew gathered to engage with employees on the company’s current goals and future direction.

Addressing its AI strategy, Liang outlined ByteDance's key objectives for 2025, which include pushing the limits of "intelligence," exploring new forms of interaction, and enhancing scale effects.

On the e-commerce front, Liang revealed three main goals for Douyin’s e-commerce operations this year: increasing user reach, expanding live-streaming e-commerce, and boosting GMV generated from search functions.

Liang also focused on ByteDance's corporate image, setting a goal for TikTok to match YouTube in terms of user trust and reputation by the end of the year.

Additionally, he emphasized the importance of strengthening efforts to curb misinformation and rumors, stressing that Douyin and Toutiao would take stronger action to crack down on unethical clickbait. He pledged to ensure that these efforts are fair and predictable.