TikTok said Wednesday it plans to open a content moderation transparency center in its US office to address concerns over the security and privacy of its short video platform.

Why it matters: The Chinese-owned app faces increasing scrutiny from US lawmakers concerned about content censorship and the potential that personal information from its American users may be shared with the Chinese government.

• TikTok has seen massive growth and has become particularly popular among teens. The app, together with its Chinese version Douyin, was downloaded more than 738 million times in 2019, making it the second most-downloaded app in the world.
• The scrutiny it faces in the US bears similarities to what social app Grindr faced prior to its sale to US investors. Splitting TikTok off would deal a significant blow to parent company Bytedance’s valuation, the world’s most valuable startup, last valued at $78 billion in late 2018 according to marketing intelligence firm CB Insights.

Details: TikTok plans to set up a content moderation center in its Los Angeles office to show outside experts how the app moderates content on the platform, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

• Experts will be able to observe how the company’s content moderators review videos uploaded to the platforms and identify potential violations, as well as see how user complaints are handled, according to the statement.
• The center will open in early May. It will focus on TikTok’s content moderation in the initial phase and will be expanded to include insight into its source code, as well as efforts around data privacy and security, the company said.
• The company also announced that it has hired cybersecurity veteran Roland Cloutier as its chief information security officer who will join the company in April. Cloutier was the chief security officer at payroll-services firm ADP, according to his Linkedin profile.
• “Our landscape and industry is rapidly evolving, and we are aware that our systems, policies and practices are not flawless, which is why we are committed to constant improvement,” TikTok US General Manager Vanessa Pappas said in the statement.

Context: TikTok has stepped up efforts in recent months to address concerns over its alleged content censorship in the US and its ties to the Chinese government.

• The company released in December its first-ever transparency report, saying that it did not receive any requests in the first half of 2019 for user information from the Chinese government including law enforcement agencies.
• The Guardian reported in September that TikTok instructs its moderators to censor videos that are deemed politically sensitive by the Chinese government, citing leaked documents detailing the platform’s guidelines. The company said in November that the guidelines were retired in May.

The world's biggest gaming event, E3, has been cancelled over fears surrounding the spread of coronavirus.

The event, due to take place 9-11 June in Los Angeles, had been highly anticipated, ahead of PlayStation and Xbox console launches later this year.

Organisers said it had been cancelled "after careful consultation" over "the health and safety of everyone in our industry".

And they were "exploring options" for an "online experience" in June.

Image Copyright @E3

"This might lead to some permanent change to events like E3," said Piers Harding-Roll, from Ampere Analysis.

Such major expos "were already struggling to define themselves in the rapidly changing landscape of games" he said.

"Next year, E3 may well be quite different."

The hype train derailed

Analysis by Marc Cieslak, gaming reporter

Got a new game to tell people about? Do it at E3. Got a new console to flog? E3 is the first stop the hype train calls at.

Over the course of its life, E3 has morphed from a trade-only event that helped retailers to figure how many physical copies of a game they wanted to buy, into a circus of organised chaos.

In recent years, the public has been allowed in, hoping to catch a glimpse of (or spend hours queuing to play) a pre-release game demo on the show floor. Multi-million dollar press conferences became the norm.

But industry observers have suggested that E3 has struggled to remain relevant in the last few years.

Opening up to the public was part of an attempt to regain some former glory. But the harsh reality is that E3 is an expensive show to exhibit at, costing many millions of dollars for those that do.

Sony, which is launching its Playstation 5 console in time for the Christmas season, had already decided not to attend, for the second year in a row.

Nintendo has also shifted to making its announcements in a global online live-stream - but, like many developers, it has maintained a presence at E3 for hands-on demonstrations.

Those are open to the public - and often involve game controllers being passed from person to person as thousands mingle on the show floor.

Microsoft's Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, tweeted that while the company had planned on appearing at E3, it would now hold a digital event.

Latest casualty

Dozens of major technology events have been cancelled in recent weeks as the virus has spread around the world and public health officials have warned people against gathering in large numbers.

The Game Developers Conference, SXSW, Mobile World Congress, and Google and Facebook's major conferences are among the casualties.

Major events that have yet to be cancelled include:

• Bafta Games Awards: The British Academy awards ceremony, on 2 April, in London
• WWDC: Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, on 3-7 June, in San Jose, California
• NAB: The annual broadcaster and media trade show, on 18-22 April, in Las Vegas,

Other events, such as the Ted talks series, have been postponed or shifted online.

'Upload demos'

The gaming media was left frustrated with organisers after the personal information of more than 2,000 journalists was published on E3's website last year.

Media captionE3 2019 round-up: Keanu, Xbox and more

And, on Wednesday, gaming journalist Laura Kate Dale tweeted: "With last year's E3 scaring away press... many publishers [are] likely to learn this year how cost-effective live-streamed events can be.

"I wouldn't be shocked if we look back at 2020 as the year E3 died."

Meanwhile, Brian Crecente, a former games journalist turned consultant, said: "Why not have E3 without the E3?"

"All of the big companies stream their press conferences anyway.