"TikTok exploits children": 14 US states sue TikTok
TikTok deliberately exploits the weaknesses of young people, but lies about it. US states are making these serious accusations in lawsuits against TikTok.
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"TikTok knowingly exploited our young people. For profit," says California Attorney General Rob Bonta, "It's really that simple. (...) Youth addiction is an important and central pillar of TikTok's business model." At the same time, the video service is misleading the public by promising measures to protect young people, which are at best empty gestures. California, twelve other US states and the District of Columbia want to have all of this banned by the courts.
They are therefore filing lawsuits against TikTok, each before a court in their own territory. In doing so, they are invoking their respective state laws. Typically, these are laws against unfair competition and misleading representations of products and services. The lawsuits are the result of a two-and-a-half-year investigation into TikTok's business practices and how they affect the mental and physical health and well-being of young people. In particular, internal documents of the defendant company as well as studies conducted by TikTok itself on the effects of various functions of the video service are to serve as evidence in the proceedings.
Applications are being made for injunctions, disgorgement of profits made using illegal methods, fines and compensation for legal costs. TikTok denies the allegations in a statement to heise online. "We believe that many of the allegations are inaccurate and misleading. We are proud of and remain committed to the work we have done to protect teens, and will continue to update and improve our product." TikTok offers "robust" protection, deletes accounts of users suspected of being too young.
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Hour limit easy to circumvent
There are also preset usage restrictions. However, these cause particular displeasure among the authorities: Although TikTok stops after 60 minutes of continuous use, children can then simply enter their password to continue. They could also extend the time between notifications to over two hours.
"Safety and well-being, especially of teenagers, is a top priority for TikTok," its head Shou Zi Chew testified before the US Parliament. Bonta considers these to be stale words: "TikTok has had its own internal information and knowledge all along that it is harmful," the minister concludes, "and it continues to use these features and designs that harm young people." TikTok deliberately exploits young people's underdeveloped self-control and brain functions to maximize the frequency and duration of their TikTok use.
"The algorithm is built to lure kids in and (keep them hooked) for as long as possible. Unfortunately, tragically, it works," says Bonta. At the same time, TikTok was misleading the public: "They were more concerned about the impression that they were doing something for young people than actually doing something to protect young people," Bonta said during a speech on Tuesday.
The 8 controversial features
At the center of the resentment are eight "manipulative features that exploit the psychological vulnerability of young people", first and foremost so-called beauty filters. These would reinforce unrealistic ideals of beauty, undermine users' self-confidence, cause body image disorders and even trigger physical and mental illnesses.
Incessant playback of new videos switches off young people's self-control to opt out. Unlike other video services, TikTok does not allow autoplay to be switched off. The infinite scrolling also encourages users to spend more time on TikTok. This removes the natural end point of a session, distorting the perception of elapsed time.
Two other TikTok offerings, TikTok Live and TikTok Stories, would specifically exploit young people's fear of missing out (FOMO). This content is only available as a livestream or for a short time.
If a child manages to get away after all, TikTok triggers automatic notifications to bring the child back. These push notifications take place "at all times, day and night, when they are at school, when they should be asleep..." criticizes Bonta. Finally, there are"likes" and comments. TikTok exploits young people's desire to be loved and accepted by their peers.
"Knowingly and intentionally"
With these features, TikTok is deliberately making its service addictive, manipulative and harmful. "They are putting profit before the health of our children," Bonte says angrily about TikTok. But he is also targeting Meta Platforms for similar features. A lawsuit from 41 US states and the District of Columbia is already pending.
While the US states have jointly filed their lawsuit against Meta in a US federal district court, they are barred from doing so in the case of TikTok, as Bonte explained on Tuesday. To go to a federal district court, violations of US federal law must be alleged. However, the relevant provisions are already the subject of a lawsuit filed by the US government against TikTok. Therefore, the states now involved could only rely on their respective state law and would have to sue separately in their courts.
The states now proceeding jointly are Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington, the District of Columbia, all coordinated by California and New York. Utah, Nevada, Indiana, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and Texas have already sued TikTok for alleged violations of the law harming minors.
California v TikTok, Bytedance et al, pending in the Superior Court of California in Santa Clara, serves as an example of the new lawsuits. The case number was not yet available at the time of going to press.
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