Mission & Ethics
Free Press
Taktak was founded with the objective of reinforcing and expanding a free and responsible press in Europe, and around the world. Developing new methods for augmenting reader revenue is an important way to support the mission of journalism, reliable information and a flourishing free press.
Inclusion
Taktak never discriminates on the basis of race, religion, nationality, gender or sexual orientation, and remains committed to including people from different backgrounds and experiences.
Conflicts of interest
Finding sustainable business models is crucial to the survival of a free press, but we must be more vigilant than ever to avoid conflicts of interest that may arise in the pursuit of economic goals.
Intellectual property
Intellectual property must always be protected, including the strict adherence to copyright laws and respect of licensing rights. Fair use standards allow for appropriate aggregation of limited portions of published content in order to further inform the public, so long as it does not infringe upon the economic and intellectual rights of the original producer and/or publisher of the work. Citing the sources and authors of journalism, in particular in other languages, is core to our mission.
Artificial intelligence
Journalism is essentially a human enterprise, and news organizations must be built in ways to support the work of journalists and editorial teams. The forward-looking application of technology is one of the most powerful tools for discovering and disseminating information, though technology itself should never be the ultimate purpose of journalism. Taktak’s commitment to increase revenue for publishers and journalists may include utilizing the emerging tools of Artificial Intelligence, which will be applied in ways to match the standards and ethics required in this industry, including:
*Transparency
We are committed to clear internal and external transparency regarding AI use. For journalistic content of our users, we expect the disclosure of those instances when AI influences audience-facing content, using precise but simple disclosures like captions or editor’s notes. Taktak believes there is a somewhat less rigid standard — as compared with journalistic use — on the use of AI in targeting segments of potential donors and in the use of generative AI models to help segment marketing messages.
*Accuracy and Human Verification
AI-generated content, including marketing content, should always be verified by humans to meet professional standards and avoid errors or offensive language. We will encourage marketers to always review AI inputs, including prompts, to ensure accuracy and replicability.
*Audience Service
Our use of AI will focus on serving our audience’s needs, aligning with our newsroom’s mission to provide reliable, informative content and to build sustainable revenue models and processes.
*Privacy and Security
We prioritize audience trust and will safeguard personal data, in line with our privacy policies. We will be transparent about how AI personalizes content, including disclosing when AI-driven content is based on user data.
*Exploration
We encourage experimentation and learning with generative AI tools, supporting newsroom training to keep all staff knowledgeable about AI’s potential.
Open data & sharing
As a solution founded by independent publishers, Taktak is committed to sharing its learnings across the industry. This relates to information about business models, donations and other forms of revenue-generation, as well as the solution’s specific uses of technology, including Artificial Intelligence.
To help us improve our customer and user experience and to support new product development, we may send voluntary customer satisfaction surveys and market research questionnaires. We will always ask for permission if we intend to share your information with reliable third-party suppliers working in partnership with us.