Massachusetts Lawyer Normal Andrea Campbell filed a lawsuit towards TikTok on Tuesday, allegedly the massively widespread social media firm has intentionally exploited younger customers.
“Today, we’re suing TikTok for designing its platform to be addictive and harmful to young people and deceiving the public about its efforts to keep its platform safe,” Campbell stated at a press occasion asserting the lawsuit. “We allege that such conduct violates state consumer protection laws and has contributed to a mental health crisis among its young users.”
The Massachusetts motion follows a multi-state investigation into TikTok’s practices launched in 2022 co-led by the Commonwealth and together with AGs across the nation throughout get together traces. Along with Massachusetts, twelve states and the District of Columbia filed lawsuits towards TikTok on Tuesday.
The AG alleged that TikTok’s options just like the “infinite scroll,” “autoplay,” “constant push notifications,” and people designed to induce an “ephemeral fear of missing out” are deliberately designed to be dangerous and addictive to teenagers to extend income.
In the meantime, the platform markets itself as protected and prioritizing youth wellbeing, the AG’s workplace stated.
“As we allege, these intentional features are remarkably effective at overriding a young person’s agency and keeping them tied to the platform,” stated Campbell. “But instead of actually addressing these harms, Tiktok lulled parents into believing that so called safety features would protect teen users.”
The “teen account” security characteristic marketed a 60 minute a day time restrict for teen customers, Campbell stated, however included no precise restrict. As an alternative, it presents teenagers a pop-up immediate they will simply bypass.
Alternatively, the AG stated, TikTok’s sister app in China presents security options for minors together with limiting use to 40 minutes a day and limiting the hours younger folks can use the app.
The AG’s workplace filed a related grievance towards Meta final yr, additionally accusing the corporate of preying on younger folks. Campbell didn’t give an replace on the standing of that case Tuesday and declined to reply whether or not her workplace is investigating any extra social media corporations.
TikTok has an enormous scope within the Commonwealth, Campbell stated, noting that Massachusetts teen accounts make up 150% of the state’s complete teen inhabitants. The quantity is inflated by some teenagers having a number of accounts, she defined.
The social media platform’s inside information, the grievance alleges, reveals a big share of adlescent use throughout late evening and in a single day hours.
Inside data additionally present the corporate acknowledged the affiliation of compulsive use with psychological and bodily harms like “disrupted sleep, depression, increased loneliness, loss of analytical skills, memory formation, contextual thinking, conversational depth, and increased anxiety,” the AG’s workplace stated.
The AG cited analysis, together with from the U.S. Surgeon Normal, displaying {that a} third of teenagers repot utilizing social media “almost constantly” and a broad vary of detrimental results on psychological well being.
The lawsuit isn’t searching for a ban of the platform, Campbell stated, however accountability for the hurt and injunctive reduction, that will embrace adjustments to the app’s allegedly dangerous options.
“This case is not about regulating the content that is shown to TikTok users,” Campbell stated. “It’s about TikTok’s own bad conduct, its intentional design choices that trap young people’s time and attention and hurt them in the process. Our goal is to hold the company accountable for its unlawful content, to stop the company from engaging in practices that exploit our young people for profit.”
