TikTok sued by 13 states – including New York – for harmful, addictive features: ‘intentionally targeting children’

TikTok is facing new legal challenges, with 13 states and Washington DC filing lawsuits against the platform on Tuesday, accusing it of harming young users and failing to adequately protect them.

These lawsuits, filed independently in New York, California, the District of Columbia and eleven other states, intensify the ongoing legal battle between TikTok, a Chinese-owned company, and various regulatory authorities. The lawsuits demand new financial sanctions against the company.

The lawsuits allege that TikTok uses addictive software specifically designed to keep children engaged for as long as possible while misleading the public about how effectively it moderates content.

“TikTok cultivates social media addiction to increase corporate profits,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. “TikTok intentionally targets children because they know children don’t yet have the defenses or ability to create healthy boundaries around addictive content.”

The states claim that TikTok’s main goal is to increase the time users, especially young people, spend on the app in order to bombard them with targeted ads.

“Young people are struggling with their mental health because of addictive social media platforms like TikTok,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James.

TikTok responded last week, stating that it strongly disagrees with claims that it is failing to protect young users, stressing, “in fact, we provide robust safeguards for teens and parents.”

Additionally, Washington DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb accused TikTok of operating an unlicensed money transmission service through livestreaming and virtual currency features.

“TikTok’s platform is dangerous by design. It is an intentionally addictive product designed to get young people hooked on their screens,” Schwalb said in an interview.

The lawsuit from Washington DC also alleges that TikTok allows the sexual exploitation of minors, claiming that the app’s livestreaming and virtual currency systems “operate like a virtual strip club without age restrictions.”

Other states filing lawsuits Tuesday include Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont and Washington state.

In March 2022, California and Massachusetts were among eight states to launch a nationwide study into TikTok’s effects on young users.

In August, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a separate lawsuit against TikTok, alleging it had failed to protect children’s privacy. Other states, such as Utah and Texas, have previously sued the platform over similar issues. TikTok responded on Monday, denying these allegations in court.

Meanwhile, TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is also struggling with a US law that threatens to ban the app completely in the country.

{Matzav.com}