A bipartisan group of 14 Attorneys Generals across 13 states has sued TikTok for two allegations. Firstly, for deliberately misleading the public over the safety of long-term use of the app, and secondly, for harming teenagers’ mental health.
The group is led by Attorney General Letitia James (New York) and Attorney General Rob Bonta (California). In a statement, Bonta said an investigation into TikTok revealed that the platform “cultivates social media addiction to boost corporate profits.”
Bonta then went on to claim that TikTok “intentionally targets” children because they don’t have the “capacity” to set “healthy boundaries” on how much they use the app.
What else does the TikTok child safety lawsuit say?
The lawsuit also highlights specific problematic elements of the app. Specifically, the suit focuses on appearance-changing beauty filters, alerts that disrupt sleep, autoplay features, and disappearing videos, which purportedly drive teenagers to spend longer times on the app.
The suit also refers to viral challenges, which, purportedly, are linked to the deaths of teenagers. One example James refers to is a 15-year-old boy who died from “subway surfing” — with videos of the practice allegedly being found on his FYP after his death.
“TikTok claims that their platform is safe for young people, but that is far from true,” James wrote in the lawsuit.
This TikTok child safety lawsuit is the latest in a long line of legal troubles for TikTok, with the deadline looming nearer to prevent pending legislation that could result in a nationwide ban of the app in the US.
Several states in the US have already ruled to ban TikTok on government devices. Meanwhile, 42 attorneys generals wrote an open letter to the Surgeon General requesting a cigarette-style warning label on social media platforms in September 2024.
As for TikTok, the platform made its position on its latest legal crisis clear in a statement to The Verge.
“We strongly disagree with these claims, many of which we believe to be inaccurate and misleading,” a TikTok spokesperson said. “We’re proud of and remain deeply committed to the work we’ve done to protect teens, and we will continue to update and improve our product.”
