13 states sue TikTok over youth protection claims – Voice of Nigeria

TikTok faces new lawsuits Tuesday from 13 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, accusing the popular social media platform of harming young users and failing to ensure their protection.

The lawsuits, filed separately in New York, California, the District of Columbia and 11 other states, expand TikTok’s legal challenges with U.S. regulators and seek additional financial sanctions.

The states allege that TikTok deliberately uses addictive software aimed at keeping children occupied for extended periods of time, while misrepresenting the effectiveness of its content moderation.

This was stated by California Attorney General Rob Bonta“TikTok cultivates social media addiction to increase corporate profits. They deliberately target children because they know that children do not have the defenses or ability to set healthy boundaries around addictive content. According to the states, TikTok wants to maximize user engagement to improve ad targeting.

New York Attorney General Letitia James emphasized that “Young people are struggling with their mental health due to addictive social media platforms like TikTok.”

In response, TikTok expressed strong disagreement with the claims and labeled many as “incorrect and misleading”, and expressed disappointment that the states chose to sue instead of working together to find constructive solutions to industry challenges.

Also read: Texas sues TikTok for allegedly violating children’s privacy laws

The company emphasized that it offers safety features such as default screen time limits and privacy settings for users under 16.

Washington DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb accused TikTok of operating an unlicensed money transmission business through livestreaming and virtual currency features, claiming: “TikTok’s platform is dangerous by design. It is a deliberately addictive product designed to get young people hooked on their screens.”

The Washington lawsuit further alleged that TikTok facilitates the sexual exploitation of underage users, likening its livestreaming and virtual currency features to a “virtual strip club without age restrictions.” The states of Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont and Washington also joined the lawsuit on Tuesday.

In March 2022, eight states, including California and Massachusetts, launched a nationwide study into TikTok’s impact on young people. In August, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against TikTok for allegedly failing to protect children’s privacy on the app.

Other states, such as Utah and Texas, have previously sued TikTok for failing to protect children from harm. TikTok has consistently denied these allegations in lawsuits.

TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, is currently struggling with a US law that could lead to a ban on the app in the United States.