14 Attorney Generals filed a lawsuit against TikTok for multiple violations
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On Tuesday, Oct. 8, 14 attorney generals, led by officials in New York and California, filed lawsuits claiming that social media platforms such as TikTok, are damaging young individuals' mental health and “collecting data without their consent.” according to NBC News.
According to NBC News, the bipartisan 14 law enforcement officers allege that Tiktok is violating state laws by “falsely claiming its service is safe for young people.” The lawsuit’s plaintiffs assert that TikTok has “addictive” features, as it is known to have “24/7 notifications and video autoplay.” Furthermore, these notifications are claimed to disrupt children’s sleep and encourage them to continue scrolling on social media past appropriate hours.
Besides the addictiveness, TikTok and other social media alike have been known to have dangerous challenges that may attract users into performing risky stunts that may injure them or harm their lives. According to ABC7, at the beginning of the year, a young teen boy died in Brooklyn, New York, while riding on the outside of a subway train, a stunt that was then revealed as “subway surfing.” The young boy's mother found that videos on Tiktok were “promoting subway surfing in a challenge on his TikTok account.”
As a TikTok spokesperson recently stated, “We 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. We will continue to update and improve our product." The spokesperson followed with the dismay they felt from the attorney generals and said, “It is incredibly disappointing they have taken this step rather than work with us on constructive solutions to industry-wide challenges.”
Even so, these claims seem to not just be solely on opinion. The attorney generals have spoken to health professionals who have concurred about the decline in mental health since the uprising of Tikok and other social media alike. In May of 2023, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, according to NBC News, “warned that social media use is a main contributor to depression, anxiety and other issues in the nation’s teens.”
This warning seems to be followed by a massive amount of evidence, especially with TikTok’s beauty filters that distort individuals’ faces, making them appear slimmer, with no skin imperfections, and as if they were wearing makeup done by a professional. This may progress into individuals believing that the filter is what they should look like, making them feel insecure and often leading to depression. The lawsuit alleges these filters may “encourage unhealthy, negative social comparison, body image issues, and related mental and physical health disorders" by creating "an impossible standard" for teens.”
New York Attorney General, Letitia James, has declared that TikTok is violating the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act also known as COPPA. According to ABC7 James argues that “by failing to prevent children under the age of 13 from joining the app and collecting their personal information without parental consent.” TikTok has made claims that it’s not specifically for children under 13 years old. James’ claim states that it has content that may intrigue a child and has advertisements aimed at children.
The lawsuit wants to file financial penalties for Tiktok, yet it has not been revealed what else will be pursued further by both parties involved. As of now, the states concerned in the lawsuit are attempting to use various state laws to prevent TikTok from using its tactics to lure children into using its app.