Attorneys general for 13 states and the District of Columbia have announced this week that they would be filing a general lawsuit against the social media platform TikTok over allegations that its “addictive” content harms teen health.
The filing alleges that TikTok has been deceiving users through its claims that it is safe for children despite its features being addictive. It is also accused of operating an unlicensed money transmission business.
Among the states included in the filing are New York, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont, and Washington.
Brian Schwalb, the Attorney General of the District of Columbia, told CNBC that the lawsuit is about accountability.
The suit alleges that there are numerous “profound” mental health risks, including depression, anxiety, sleep loss, and body dysmorphia, to those using the app, especially teens and children who have compulsive TikTok use.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta highlighted in a statement to Reuters that the company has cast away safety in order to boost its earnings.
“TikTok cultivates social media addiction to boost corporate profits,” 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 states go on to say that the social media platform works to maximize the amount of time users spend on it in order to target them with ads.
“TikTok uses an addictive, content-recommendation system designed to keep minors on the platform as long as possible and as often as possible, despite the dangers of compulsive use,” a statement from the attorneys general obtained by CNN said.
Schwalb said that the app is “digital nicotine” and said TikTok is “intentionally trying to addict young people to its platform.”
Despite the allegations in the suit, TikTok maintains that the claims in the lawsuit are “inaccurate and misleading.”
“We’re proud of and remain deeply committed to the work we’ve done to protect teens, and we will continue to update and improve our product,” the spokesperson said. “We provide robust safeguards, proactively remove suspected underage users, and have voluntarily launched safety features such as default screentime limits, family pairing, and privacy by default for minors under 16.”
“We’ve endeavored to work with the Attorneys General for over two years, and it is incredibly disappointing they have taken this step rather than work with us on constructive solutions to industry-wide challenges.”
More than half of those ages 13 to 17 in the US use the app, and worldwide, TikTok has more than a billion active users.