On Tuesday, more than a dozen states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit against TikTok, claiming the popular short-form video app is addictive to children and designed to harm their mental health.
The cause of the lawsuit is National investigation into TikToklaunched in March 2022 by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from numerous states, including New York, California, Kentucky, and New Jersey. All complaints were filed in state court.
At the heart of each lawsuit is the TikTok algorithm, which enhances what users see on the platform by populating the app’s main “For You” feed with content tailored to people’s interests. The complaint alleges that TikTok’s design features, including the ability to endlessly scroll through content, push notifications with built-in “buzz,” and face filters that create an appearance of unreachability for users, make children addicted to the platform. Pointed out.
“They chose profit over the health, safety, well-being and future of these children,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a press conference in San Francisco. “And that’s not something we can accept. So we filed a lawsuit.”
The latest lawsuit came almost a year later. Dozens of states have sued Instagram’s parent company Meta Platforms. The company has been charged in state and federal court with harming young people and contributing to a youth mental health crisis by knowingly and intentionally designing addictive features that hooked children to its platform.
Legal challenges also include: Google YouTubepart of a growing recognition of social media companies and their businesses. Impact on young people’s lives. In some cases, this agenda is being coordinated in ways similar to how states have previously organized against the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries.
But TikTok faces even bigger obstacles, with its very existence in the United States at stake. Under a federal law that took effect earlier this year, TikTok could be banned from the United States by mid-January if its China-based parent company ByteDance doesn’t sell it by then. Both TikTok and ByteDance are challenging the law in the Washington Court of Appeals. A committee of three judges heard the case. Oral argument The case, filed last month, is expected to be decided and could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In Tuesday’s filing, the District of Columbia called the algorithm “dopamine-inducing” and said the company could push many young users into excessive use, allowing them to use the app for hours on end. He said it was intentionally created to be addictive. TikTok does not engage in these behaviors, even though we know they lead to serious psychological and physiological harm, including anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia, and other long-term problems. The district said it is doing so.
TikTok regrets that the lawsuit was filed after two years of working with the attorney general to resolve the issue, a spokesperson said.
“We strongly disagree with these claims and believe many of them are inaccurate and misleading,” a TikTok spokesperson said. Alex Howrek said. “We’re proud of the work we’ve done to protect teens and remain committed to it. We’ll continue to update and improve our products.”
The social media company does not allow children under 13 to sign up for its main service and restricts some content to everyone under 18. However, Washington state and several other states said in filings that children can easily circumvent these restrictions and access the service, arguing that the company’s platform is safe for children. However, adults still use it.
The District of Columbia has banned TikTok from “unauthorized virtual transactions” by allowing TikTok to buy TikTok coins, the virtual currency within its platform, and send “gifts” to streamers on TikTok LIVE that can be redeemed for real money. It claims that it is being operated as an “economy”. According to the complaint, TikTok takes a 50% fee on these financial transactions, but has not registered as a money transmitter with the U.S. Treasury Department or district authorities.
Officials say teens are frequently exploited with sexually explicit content through TikTok’s livestreaming feature, which essentially turns the app into a “virtual strip club” with no age restrictions. It is said that it is now operational. They claim that the company’s share of the financial transactions allows it to profit from the exploitation.
The 14 attorneys general said the lawsuit aims to prevent TikTok from using these features, impose financial penalties for alleged illegal activity, and collect damages from harmed users. It states that.
Social media use among teenagers is nearly universal in the United States and many other parts of the world. almost all teenagers According to the Pew Research Center, 13- to 17-year-olds in the United States report using social media platforms, with about one-third saying they use social media “almost all the time.”
High school students are use social media frequently Persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness are more common, according to a new study conducted last year by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that involved nearly 20,000 teens.
Last week, the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton TikTok filed a lawsuit alleging that the company shares and sells the personal information of minors, violating a new state law that prohibits such practices. TikTok, which disputes the allegations, is also fighting a similar data-related federal lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in August.
Several Republican-led states also previously sued the company, including Nebraska, Kansas, New Hampshire, Kansas, Iowa and Arkansas. some failedover claims it harms children’s mental health, exposes them to “inappropriate” content and allows young people to be sexually exploited on the platform.
___
Associated Press reporters from around the U.S. contributed to this story.
