Current:Home > MarketsStates sue TikTok, claiming its platform is addictive and harms the mental health of children -Wealth Pursuit Network
States sue TikTok, claiming its platform is addictive and harms the mental health of children
View
Date:2025-04-14 10:48:10
NEW YORK (AP) — More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia have filed lawsuits against TikTok on Tuesday, alleging the popular short-form video app is harming youth mental health by designing its platform to be addictive to kids.
The lawsuits stem from a national investigation into TikTok, which was launched in March 2022 by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from many states, including California, Kentucky and New Jersey. All of the complaints were filed in state courts.
At the heart of each lawsuit is the TikTok algorithm, which powers what users see on the platform by populating the app’s main “For You” feed with content tailored to people’s interests. The lawsuits also emphasize design features that they say make children addicted to the platform, such as the ability to scroll endlessly through content, push notifications that come with built-in “buzzes” and face filters that create unattainable appearances for users.
In its filings, the District of Columbia called the algorithm “dopamine-inducing,” and said it was created to be intentionally addictive so the company could trap many young users into excessive use and keep them on its app for hours on end. TikTok does this despite knowing that these behaviors will lead to “profound psychological and physiological harms,” such as anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia and other long-lasting problems, the complaint said.
“It is profiting off the fact that it’s addicting young people to its platform,” District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb said in an interview.
Keeping people on the platform is “how they generate massive ad revenue,” Schwalb said. “But unfortunately, that’s also how they generate adverse mental health impacts on the users.”
TikTok does not allow children under 13 to sign up for its main service and restricts some content for everyone under 18. But Washington and several other states said in their filing that children can easily bypass those restrictions, allowing them to access the service adults use despite the company’s claims that its platform is safe for children.
Their lawsuit also takes aim at other parts of the company’s business.
The district alleges TikTok is operating as an “unlicensed virtual economy” by allowing people to purchase TikTok Coins – a virtual currency within the platform – and send “Gifts” to streamers on TikTok LIVE who can cash it out for real money. TikTok takes a 50% commission on these financial transactions but hasn’t registered as a money transmitter with the U.S. Treasury Department or authorities in the district, according to the complaint.
Officials say teens are frequently exploited for sexually explicit content through TikTok’s LIVE streaming feature, which has allowed the app to operate essentially as a “virtual strip club” without any age restrictions. They say the cut the company gets from the financial transactions allows it to profit from exploitation.
Many states have filed lawsuits against TikTok and other tech companies over the past few years as a reckoning grows against prominent social media platforms and their ever-growing impact on young people’s lives. In some cases, the challenges have been coordinated in a way that resembles how states previously organized against the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries.
Last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued TikTok, alleging the company was sharing and selling minors’ personal information in violation of a new state law that prohibits these practices. TikTok, which disputes the allegations, is also fighting against a similar data-oriented federal lawsuit filed in August by the Department of Justice.
Several Republican-led states, such as Nebraska, Kansas, New Hampshire, Kansas, Iowa and Arkansas, have also previously sued the company, some unsuccessfully, over allegations it is harming children’s mental health, exposing them to “inappropriate” content or allowing young people to be sexually exploited on its platform. Arkansas has brought a legal challenge against YouTube, as well as Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook and Instagram and is being sued by dozens of states over allegations its harming young people’s mental health. New York City and some public school districts have also brought their own lawsuits.
TikTok, in particular, is facing other challenges at the national level. Under a federal law that took effect earlier this year, TikTok could be banned from the U.S. by mid-January if its China-based parent company ByteDance doesn’t sell the platform by mid-January.
Both TikTok and ByteDance are challenging the law at an appeals court in Washington. A panel of three judges heard oral arguments in the case last month and are expected to issue a ruling, which could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
veryGood! (4891)
Related
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- Imane Khelif vs Liu Yang Olympic boxing live updates, results, highlights
- Olympic medal count today: What is the medal count at 2024 Paris Games on Aug. 10?
- Harrison Ford, Miley Cyrus and more to be honored as Disney Legends at awards ceremony
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Proof Jessica Biel Remains Justin Timberlake’s Biggest Fan
- Justin Baldoni Details Working With Complex Personalities on It Ends With Us
- 2 state prison guards arrested, accused of sex with inmates
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- Colorado funeral home owners accused of mishandling 190 bodies ordered to pay $950M
Ranking
- Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
- Starliner astronauts aren't 1st 'stuck' in space: Frank Rubio's delayed return set record
- Every Change The It Ends With Us Film Has From The Colleen Hoover Book
- What to watch: Cate Blanchett gets in the game
- Intellectuals vs. The Internet
- Horoscopes Today, August 8, 2024
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Lay-up
- Jamaican sprinter gets reallocated Olympic medal from Marion Jones saga, 24 years later
Recommendation
What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
No-car Games: Los Angeles Olympic venues will only be accessible by public transportation
USWNT vs. Brazil live updates: USA wins Olympic gold for first time in 12 years
Bear Market No More: Discover the Best Time to Buy Cryptocurrencies at Neptune Trade X Trading Center
Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
Francis Ngannou, ex-UFC champ, hopes to restore his passion for fighting as he mourns
Large geological feature known as the ‘Double Arch’ and the ‘Toilet Bowl’ collapses in southern Utah
Debby finally moves out of the US, though risk from flooded rivers remains