14 attorneys general in the US have sued TikTok for harming children. After a lawsuit by the US government and a law that is intended to force TikTok to change ownership, the pressure on the company is increasing.
TikTok is coming under even more pressure in the USA due to lawsuits from US states. The accusation: TikTok intentionally designed the video platform in such a way that children and young people wanted to spend more and more time there. This harms their well-being. TikTok rejected the allegations.
The attorneys general of 13 US states and the capital Washington point to functions such as the ability to scroll further and further with videos that start automatically. This makes children in particular addicted to more, they argued.
They also criticize filters that change the appearance and the spread of so-called challenges, in which users publish videos with sometimes dangerous activities. TikTok responded that it has robust security measures and limits on the time young users spend on the platform.
“Profound psychological and physiological damage”
In March 2022, attorneys general from several states – both Democrats and Republicans – launched an investigation that has now led to the lawsuits. The algorithm, which continually presents mostly young users with new content that fits their interests, causes a release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, also known as the happiness hormone, according to the lawsuit in Washington.
The algorithm was intentionally designed to make users addicted and, in particular, encourage young people to spend hours in the app. TikTok does this to make a profit, even though it is aware that such behavior leads to profound psychological and physiological harm. Anxiety, depression and the so-called disfigurement syndrome were cited as examples.
Pressure also from US government and legislation
In August, the US government increased legal pressure on TikTok with a lawsuit over the collection of children's data.
The video app and its Chinese parent company Bytedance made it too easy for children under the age of 13 to open accounts without parental consent, the US Department of Justice said in its lawsuit.
TikTok is currently defending itself against a law in the USA that would force a change of ownership. There are fears in US politics that the Chinese government could access data from American users via Bytedance and use the app for propaganda. TikTok rejects this and went to court in the USA to stop the law.
