OAN Staff Abril Elfi
11:20 AM – Tuesday, October 8, 2024
TikTok is being sued by 13 states and the District of Columbia in new lawsuits that allege the social media platform uses addictive features to “intentionally target children.”
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On Tuesday, the states which include New York, California, the District of Columbia and 11 additional states, all separately filed lawsuits against TikTok for allegedly harming and failing to protect young people.
In the lawsuits, the states are accusing the Chinese-owned company of intentionally using addictive software that has been designed to keep young people watching as long and often as possible. It also accuses the social media application of misrepresenting its content moderation effectiveness.
Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont and Washington state also sued on Tuesday.
“TikTok cultivates social media addiction to boost corporate profits,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “TikTok intentionally targets children because they know kids do not yet have the defenses or capacity to create healthy boundaries around addictive content.”
The state said that TikTok is looking to maximize the amount of time users spend on the app in order to target them with ads.
“Young people are struggling with their mental health because of addictive social media platforms like TikTok,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The company responded to the allegations saying they strongly disagree and “in fact, we offer robust safeguards for teens and parents.”
Washington D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has alleged that the social media application operates an unlicensed money transmission business through its live streaming and virtual currency features.
“TikTok’s platform is dangerous by design. It’s an intentionally addictive product that is designed to get young people addicted to their screens,” he said.
The lawsuit by the District of Columbia also accuses TikTok of facilitating sexual exploitation of underage users, saying TikTok’s live streaming and virtual currency “operate like a virtual strip club with no age restrictions.”
This comes as the Justice Department sued TikTok in August accusing them of failing to protect children’s privacy on their app.
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