Chinese-owned TikTok has received 14 lawsuits filed by American states accusing the short-form video app of harming and failing to protect young people.
The states accuse TikTok of using intentionally addictive software to exploit and harm young users to enable the company to boost revenue from selling targeted advertising space.
The action seeks significant penalties, as well as injunctive and monetary relief, to address TikTok’s misconduct.
The coalition of lawsuits, which accuse TikTok for violations of state consumer protection laws, is co-led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Bonta said their investigations has revealed that TikTok cultivates social media addiction to boost corporate profits.
"TikTok intentionally targets children because they know kids do not yet have the defenses or capacity to create healthy boundaries around addictive content,” Bonta said.
“When we look at the youth mental health crisis and the revenue machine TikTok has created, fueled by the time and attention of our young people, it’s devastatingly obvious: Our children and teens never stood a chance against these social media behemoths.
"TikTok must be held accountable for the harms it created in taking away the time — and childhoods — of American children.”
Use of TikTok is pervasive among young people in the United States - as 63% of all Americans aged 13 to 17 reported using TikTok, and most teenagers in the U.S. were using TikTok daily; 17% of American teens said that they were on TikTok 'almost constantly'.
Attorneys general from the following states join Attorney General Bonta in filing separate enforcement actions against TikTok to hold it accountable for its role in the children's mental health crisis: New York, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
As of today, 23 attorneys general have filed actions against TikTok for its conduct toward youth, including existing actions filed by the attorneys general of Utah, Nevada, Indiana, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, and Texas.
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