The DC Attorney General “announced a lawsuit against TikTok, Inc. (TikTok) for intentionally inflicting mental and physical harm on children of the district through its platform” designed to be addictive to children.

From the DC Attorney General’s Office:

“Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today announced a lawsuit against TikTok, Inc. (TikTok) for causing mental and physical harm to district children through its platform deliberately designed to be addictive to children. The lawsuit also alleges that TikTok misleads its users and their parents about the security of its platform and illegally operates a money transmission business, all in violation of the District’s consumer protection laws. The filing by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) alleges that TikTok’s manipulative platform traps young users into cycles of overuse that the company knows contribute to profound psychological and physiological harm, including body dysmorphia, sleep loss, depression, anxiety and long-term use. -lasting neurological effects. Despite this, TikTok misleads its users and their parents by falsely claiming that the app is safe for children and that users have full control over their engagement, spending and data.

Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that TikTok operates an unlicensed virtual economy, in violation of District money transmission laws, that combines livestreaming (TikTok LIVE) with a virtual currency system (TikTok Coins). The complaint documents how users can purchase “coins” to send “gifts” to streamers that can be paid out for real money, after TikTok took up to 50% commission – all without registering as a licensed money transmitter with the DC Department of Insurance . , Securities, and Banking (DISB) or the U.S. Department of the Treasury. TikTok is fully aware that these features combine to create an environment where children are often sexually exploited by users, but has chosen to turn a blind eye in favor of increasing profitability.

“TikTok’s platform, designed to be dangerously addictive, is causing enormous harm to an entire generation of young people,” said Attorney General Schwalb. “In addition to prioritizing profits over children’s health, TikTok’s unregulated and illegal virtual economy allows the darkest, most depraved corners of society to prey on vulnerable victims. The company knows what is happening and has chosen to ignore it. This lawsuit seeks to put an end to the Company’s illegal, deceptive, and predatory conduct.”

TikTok is intentionally addictive, harmful and exploitative

The brains of children and adolescents, which lack the impulse control of adults, are particularly susceptible to exploitation by the desire, reward, and reinforcement system that endless scrolling provides. To get users hooked on the app, TikTok uses a dopamine-inducing algorithm that serves users highly customized videos to keep them hooked on the platform for hours. TikTok is capitalizing on young users’ increased risk of online financial exploitation by deploying an illegal virtual currency layered with cartoon characters and attractive images designed to get them to spend money without adequate safeguards in place.

TikTok falsely claims that the app is safe for children

TikTok falsely claims that its platform is a safe place where users can control their engagement, their spending, and their data. In reality, young users are powerless against the company’s advanced algorithms and design features intended to collect and exploit their personal data. Children easily circumvent TikTok’s minimum age restrictions, despite the company’s claims about the effectiveness of its content moderation and parental control systems.

TikTok operates an unlicensed money transmission system, allowing financial exploitation of children

TikTok’s malicious and unsafe environment stems in part from the company’s inability to properly register as a money transmitter with DISB and the U.S. Treasury Department. Payment systems on digital platforms that facilitate the exchange of money between users (e.g. Venmo or Cash App) are subject to legal safeguards to prevent money laundering, fraud and other illegal activities. TikTok blatantly circumvents local and federal laws by skirting these regulations, enabling a significant number of sexually exploitative and other illegal transactions on TikTok LIVE.

TikTok profits from the sexual exploitation of children on its platform

TikTok not only enables child sexual exploitation through livestreaming and illegal virtual currency features, but also profits from it, taking up to 50% commission from every financial transaction. Teens are often exploited for sexually explicit content through TikTok’s LIVE and Coins features, which essentially allows the app to function as a virtual strip club without age restrictions, while the company misleads users and their parents and falsely claims it has a strong policy carries out to protect teenagers.

The Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) lawsuit, filed in DC Superior Court, is part of a bipartisan coalition of 14 attorneys general across the country who filed lawsuits today with a range of claims against TikTok. With this lawsuit, OAG seeks to force TikTok to correct its harmful and deceptive consumer practices, and seeks to recover money for affected District residents, civil penalties, and attorneys’ fees.

The full complaint can be found here.

This case is being handled by Office of Consumer Protection Director Adam Teitelbaum, Deputy Director Kevin Vermillion, and Assistant Attorney General Jorge Bonilla Lopez.

Mental health trends among district youth

According to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) report on the District of Columbia 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey:

• Nearly half (47.7%) of the district’s high school girls self-reported episodes of psychological distress, including feeling persistently sad or hopeless.
• Self-reports of suicidal thoughts, plans or attempts have increased among youth in the district since 2007 and have remained consistently high.
• More than a quarter (28%) of all high school students and more than a third (36.9%) of all high school students reported seriously considering attempting suicide.

According to the OSSE report, in 2021:

• More than 70% of all middle school students in the district, including 74% of high school students, reported spending more than three hours a day on screen.
• More than two-thirds (67.5%) of the district’s high school students report spending three or more hours a day on a screen.
• Nearly three-quarters (73.6%) of the district’s teens reported getting less than eight hours of sleep on an average school night.
  

How to report illegal or unfair business practices

To report unfair business practices, scams or fraud, please contact OAG at: