TikTok knows its app is harmful to teenagers, lawsuits say

Tuesday, over a dozen states and the District of Columbia filed lawsuits against the video-sharing platform, alleging it is designed to be addictive and is harmful to younger people.

While parts of the court filings are redacted, Kentucky Public Radio was able to read digitally blacked out internal TikTok documents in the lawsuit filed by Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman. The redacted parts of the lawsuit reportedly show TikTok employees are seemingly aware that certain safeguards are ineffective. For example, an alert about screen time is not actually meant to limit users’ screen time and has “negligible impact,” Louisville Public Media reported.

“TikTok measured the success of the tool, however, not by whether it actually reduced the time teens spent on the platform to address this harm, but by three unrelated ‘success metrics,’ the first of which was ‘improving public trust in the TikTok platform via media coverage,’” Kentucky’s lawsuit says, according to LPM.

Other redacted parts of the Kentucky lawsuit reportedly show an internal TikTok document acknowledging that face filters on the platform perpetuate “a narrow beauty norm” that can “negatively impact the wellbeing of our community.”

In a statement shared with Quartz, a TikTok spokesperson said, “It is highly irresponsible of NPR to publish information that is under a court seal. Unfortunately, this complaint cherry-picks misleading quotes and takes outdated documents out of context to misrepresent our commitment to community safety.”

The spokesperson said the platform has “robust safeguards, which include proactively removing suspected underage users, and we have voluntarily launched safety features such as default screentime limits, family pairing, and privacy by default for minors under 16.”

In 2022, state attorneys general, including from California, Kentucky, and Massachusetts, launched an investigation into the popular app’s potentially harmful effects on the mental health of teenage users. The investigation led to the lawsuits.

The states allege TikTok’s algorithm, which determines what content users see on their main feed, called “For You,” is designed to be addicting. The algorithm shows content aligned with what users are interested in.

“TikTok claims that their platform is safe for young people, but that is far from true,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of the leaders of the bipartisan coalition, said during the announcement of the lawsuits, the Wall Street Journal (NWSA) reported. “In New York and across the country, young people have died or gotten injured doing dangerous TikTok challenges, and many more are feeling more sad, anxious and depressed because of TikTok’s addictive features.”

The TikTok spokesperson said the company “strongly disagree with these claims, many of which we believe to be 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.”