A Utah complaint accuses TikTok of intentionally exposing kids to hazardous information.
Utah filed a lawsuit against TikTok on Tuesday, alleging that the company intentionally exploits technology to keep kids interested in bad content.
At a press conference to announce the lawsuit, Governor Spencer Cox remarked, “The harms to children need to stop.”
In a consumer protection complaint filed in Salt Lake City state court, it is alleged that TikTok employs technologies designed to keep kids using the app in spite of the documented negative effects of social media use on children’s mental health.
Utah has accused the app, which is situated in Culver City, California, of employing algorithms to target kids with occasionally gruesome and upsetting content through its “recommendation engine” in order to keep them using the app.
The business denies Utah’s accusations.
“TikTok genuinely worries about protecting its youthful users. For users under the age of 18, we’ve set up cool safeguards like a 60-minute time limit, and there are also parental controls for teenagers. Our staff constantly strives to meet the obstacles that everyone in the sector has in order to ensure the safety and happiness of our community.
TikTok is safe and secure for teenagers, according to business CEO Shou Zi Chew, who testified before Congress in March despite efforts by politicians to outlaw it. It attracted 150 million active U.S. users at the time, or nearly half the country. According to Utah’s lawsuit, it made close to $10 billion in advertising income last year.
State Attorney General Sean Reyes compared TikTok to a slot machine during the news conference on Tuesday, highlighting how the app works as an alluring device that ensnares kids’ attention and doesn’t want to let go.
The lawsuit asserts that one of the technologies it uses is “infinite scroll,” which offers new movies tailored to a specific user. According to the article, “filter bubbles” are another technique that provide users with more intense loops of the videos that catch their attention.
“TikTok directly profited from addicting children to the app and continued to capitalise on the addictive nature of the app despite knowing the harm that addiction would cause Utah’s children,” the complaint states.
According to the attorney general’s office, Utah has the highest proportion of children per capita in the nation—more than one in every four residents. Without include learning time spent at school or for assignments, nearly 80% of the state’s K–12 kids spend two or more hours each day on screens, according to the lawsuit.
Utah also claims that TikTok fails to verify user ages, fails to remove all child abuse sexual content or clips dealing with self-harm and eating disorders, fails to adequately address the detrimental effects of teen social media use on their mental health, falls short of screening out child predators, fails to control risky video challenges involving asphyxiation and bone-breaking, and misleads the public about its commitment to protecting children.
Reyes charged TikTok with misleading parents by giving an inaccurate impression of safety. Actions that violate the Utah Consumer Sales Practises Act are mentioned in the case. The court papers demand over $300,000 in damages as well as corrective actions.
TikTok has previously dealt with similar accusations. Similar allegations were included in the complaints filed by Arkansas and Indiana, among other states. The first state to formally outlaw the app was Montana, however both the app developers and this decision have run into problems and disagreements. TikTok appears to be under fire from many different directions, with many states voicing worries about its policies and their effects on users, particularly the younger ones.