TikTok has been sued by more than a dozen states in the United States, alleging that the social media platform is contributing to a mental health crisis among teenagers.
14 bipartisan attorneys general from across the country allege that the company intentionally misled the public about the safety of prolonged use and uses addictive features to attract children to the app. The lawsuit was called "disappointing" by TikTok, and the company believed that many of the claims were "inaccurate and misleading." The platform is already fighting a law that Congress passed in April that would ban it from the United States unless Bytedance, the platform's Chinese parent company, agreed to a sale. According to the lawsuit that was filed on Tuesday in New York, "TikTok knows that compulsive use of and other harmful effects of its platform are wreaking havoc on the mental health of millions of American children and teenagers." "TikTok consistently misrepresents its platform as'safe' and 'appropriate for children and teenagers,' despite such documented knowledge." Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, stated that TikTok "challenges" had resulted in the deaths or injuries of young people across the nation, and that many others were experiencing "more sadness, anxiety, and depression due to TikTok's addictive features." She mentioned the death in Manhattan of a 15-year-old boy who was "subway surfing," or riding on top of a moving subway car. She claimed that his mother later discovered TikTok videos of such activities on his phone. In a statement announcing the action, Ms. James stated, "TikTok claims that their platform is safe for young people, but that is far from true." The lawsuit focuses on the following aspects as problematic: alarms that upset rest; videos that vanish, prompting users to frequently check the platform; and beauty filters that let users change how they look. According to the lawsuit, TikTok has misrepresented the effectiveness of tools designed to help users limit their screen time or change the content they are served. In addition to the District of Columbia, where the company was also accused of operating an unlicensed money transmission business through its "virtual currency" offering, the lawsuits were brought separately by 13 states and the District of Columbia. Tuesday's statement from TikTok read: We strongly disagree with these assertions, many of which we believe to be false and deceptive. "We will continue to update and improve our product," the company states. "We are proud of and remain deeply committed to the work we have done to protect teens." In addition to financial penalties, the lawsuit asks the court to prevent TikTok from engaging in such conduct. Facebook and Instagram have both been the subject of similar lawsuits brought by regulators for their effects on the mental health of young people. The app's legal woes are getting worse as a result of the lawsuits. It is estimated that more than half of teenagers in the United States use the app multiple times per day. Texas and Utah, for example, have previously brought child safety-related lawsuits against TikTok. In August, TikTok was accused by the Federal Trade Commission, a government watchdog, of violating child privacy laws. The non-profit Center for Countering Digital Hate's chief executive, Imran Ahmed, expressed optimism that the legal action would make parents more aware of the risks posed by the platforms and press businesses to alter their methods. He stated, however, that Washington would also need to toughen the law in order for significant change to occur. Regarding the lawsuits, he stated, "It sends a signal there is growing frustration that there are no other mechanisms available... that will hold these platforms accountable." He stated that although attorneys general "are doing what they can with the limited tools available to them," the judicial system's capacity to hold companies accountable is "really limited."
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