TikTok is facing multiple state lawsuits in the US over allegations the app is harming children’s mental health.
In lawsuits filed across 13 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, it’s alleged that TikTok’s “addictive” features have led to rising rates of depression, eating disorders, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among young users.
TikTok has rejected the allegations, as the platform prepares to defend itself in a growing list of legal challenges.
Background
TikTok has become one of the most popular social media sites used by younger people.
Studies from the American think tank, the Pew Research Centre, show TikTok is the second most commonly used platform, only trailing YouTube.
Nearly two-thirds of 13-17-year-olds use TikTok in the U.S., according to the Centre.
Around 17% of American teenagers use the platform “almost constantly.”
Lawsuit
There have been ongoing investigations into TikTok’s commercial practices for at least the past two years.
These investigations have focused on whether TikTok’s business model causes addiction and contributes to poor mental health for children and teens.
Now, the states, co-led by theandAttorneys General, have opted to take formal legal action against TikTok in their respective states. It’s a bipartisan move across both Democratic and Republican states.
Features
The lawsuit has accused various TikTok features of fostering addictions to the platform and contributing to deteriorating mental health outcomes for younger people.
This includes common social media features such as comments, likes, live streaming and push notifications. Other features more specific to TikTok called out in the lawsuit include:
— indefinitely and seamlessly moving through videos. California’s lawsuit says this feature makes it “difficult to disengage.”
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— continuously playing new videos. TikTok doesn’t allow users to turn off this feature.
— altering a person’s appearance in photos and videos. NY Attorney-General Letitia James said these filters “lower young users’ self-esteem”, encourage eating disorders, and cause body dysmorphia.
“” — viral videos encouraging others to perform a certain trend. The lawsuit in New York, for instance, refers to a boy who died after posting videos of himself “subway surfing”: riding on top of a moving train carriage.
Safety claims
The legal claims allege TikTok has falsely spruiked its safety credentials.
The lawsuits identify the platform’s proclaimed “60-minute limit” for teens to restrict screen time.
The states argue TikTok’s so-called “limit” is deceptive because “teens are simply prompted to enter a passcode to continue watching.”
TikTok has also been accused of targeting children to use the platform, while failing to warn them about features like beauty filters.
TikTok’s response
has rejected the allegations raised in the lawsuits.
In a statement, the platform said it believes the claims are “inaccurate and misleading.”
“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.”
Other cases
A number of other U.S. states have brought separate legal action against TikTok, alleging it’s harming children’s mental health.
U.S. Congress has also passed a bill that could see a shutdown of TikTok in the country if the app’s Chinese-owned parent company, ByteDance, doesn’t sell TikTok.
In response,, saying the law violates the constitutional protection of free speech.
