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CNN
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A bipartisan group of 14 attorneys general from around the country filed a lawsuit against TikTok on Tuesday, accusing it of making young people “addicted” and harming their mental health.
The lawsuit alleges endless scrolling feeds of content, TikTok “challenge” videos that can sometimes encourage users to engage in risky behavior, and late-night push notifications that the attorney general claims can disrupt children’s sleep. , various elements of the TikTok platform are at issue. .
Each of these lawsuits was filed separately by members of a coalition co-led by New York Attorney General Letitia James and California Attorney General Rob Bonta. And they mark the latest legal pressure TikTok is facing, including legislation that could see it banned in the U.S. as early as next year, accusing the platform of illegally collecting children’s data. It is fighting a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as several national lawsuits. .
In June, the governor of New York also signed a bill regulating social media algorithms. For example, TikTok could be forced to rethink how it operates by requiring platforms to display content in chronological order to users under 18. And last month, attorneys general from 42 states asked U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to require labels on social media apps warning of potential harm to young users.
“We strongly disagree with these claims and believe many of them are inaccurate and misleading,” TikTok spokesperson Alex Howrek said in a statement. “We’re proud of the work we’ve done to protect teens and remain committed to it. We’ll continue to update and improve our products.” We provide strong security measures, proactively remove suspected underage users, and voluntarily implement safety features. ”
TikTok, for its part, has repeatedly said it believes its platform is safe for children and offers safety features such as default screen time limits and optional parental monitoring tools for young users.
Howreck said TikTok has “worked with the Attorney General for more than two years, but the Attorney General took this action without working with us on constructive solutions to industry-wide challenges.” It’s very unfortunate,” he added.
But state groups participating in Tuesday’s action say TikTok’s efforts aren’t enough.
“TikTok’s fundamental business model focuses on maximizing the time young users spend on the platform, allowing the company to increase revenue from targeted ad sales,” the attorney general said. said in a statement. “TikTok uses an addictive content recommendation system designed to keep minors on the platform as long and as often as possible, despite the risks of compulsive use.”
In the complaint filed by James, TikTok claims that “the compulsive use and other harmful effects of its platform are wreaking havoc on the mental health of millions of American children and teens.” “I am aware that there is,” he said. It also said that “TikTok considers users under the age of 13 to be a key demographic,” even though the platform only allows users 13 and older. The complaint cites TikTok’s internal documents, which are heavily redacted.
James claims that the platform’s “focus on profit over safety has made TikTok highly profitable,” and that TikTok’s U.S. revenue could reach $16 billion in 2023, according to the complaint. He pointed out that he did. The complaint also cites a Harvard University study that claims TikTok earned $2 billion in ad revenue from U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 in 2022.
TikTok’s so-called beauty filters often manipulate users’ images by making them appear thinner or as if they are wearing makeup, creating things like: can “promote unhealthy negative social comparisons, body image issues, and related mental and physical health disorders.” That’s an “impossible standard” for teenagers, the lawsuit alleges.
They also argue that TikTok’s “challenges,” a viral trend in which users try to replicate videos created by others, can encourage risky behavior among young people. Earlier this year, a teenage boy in Brooklyn died while riding on the outside of the subway in an act known as “subway surfing,” after which the boy’s mother “advertised subway surfing in a challenge on his TikTok account.” “I found the video,” the complaint states. state. TikTok previously worked with New York authorities to remove subway surfing content, The New York Times reported in January.
James’ complaint alleges that TikTok violates the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (also known as COPPA) by failing to prevent children under 13 from participating in the app and collecting personal information without parental consent. It has also been accused of being TikTok claims the platform is not intended for children under 13, but says it “contains subject matter, characters, activities, music, and other content aimed at children, as well as advertisements aimed at children.”
“By taking full advantage of the addictive nature of the TikTok platform, TikTok has cultivated a younger generation of users who spend more time on the platform than they would otherwise choose. “responsible,” James’ complaint states.
The lawsuit seeks financial penalties against TikTok that would require the platform to pay back any profits it made from advertising to teens and pre-teens in New York.
Shortly after the attorney general’s lawsuit, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report highlighting how pervasive social media has become in the lives of American teens and how it has a significant relationship to mental health. published a book.
Data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows that more than three in four high school students go online frequently and use social media several times a day. Additionally, approximately 30% of high school students use social media at least once an hour.
Students who reported frequent social media use were more likely to have significant negative experiences and emotions than students who did not use social media frequently.
Approximately 43% of high school students who use social media frequently reported feeling persistent sadness or hopelessness, compared to 32% of high school students who use social media infrequently. They were also more likely to report having been bullied both at school and online and to have seriously considered suicide.
The study also found that teenage girls were more likely than boys to report poor mental health and more likely to say they used social media frequently.
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey has been conducted by the CDC for more than 30 years as a way to measure the well-being of American high school students. The latest report includes data through 2023 and collects responses from more than 20,000 students in grades 9-12 from a nationally representative sample of 155 schools.
CNN’s Matt Egan contributed to this report.