California is suing TikTok for “exploiting” young users "for profit" and misleading the public over the danger the social media platform poses, said California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Tuesday.
That’s in addition to collecting and using personal information from users under 13 without parents’ consent or notice.
The lawsuit, filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court, is part of a wider effort led by Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James, according to a news release on Tuesday. They lead a coalition of 14 attorneys general in filing lawsuits against TikTok — 12 states filed Tuesday, including California, Bonta said at a news conference.
“[TikTok has] built a business model centered on exploiting young people’s time, attention and well-being,” Bonta said.
In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law prohibiting social media platforms, websites and other applications from providing an “addictive feed” to minors unless parents give consent in an effort to protect children and teens’ health.
"We strongly disagree with these claims, many of which we believe to be inaccurate and misleading,” Alex Haurek, a TikTok spokesperson, said in an email to The Desert Sun. “We're proud of and remain deeply committed to the work we've done to protect teens and we will continue to update and improve our product. 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.”
TikTok has “endeavored to work with the Attorneys General for over two years, and it is incredibly disappointing they have taken this step rather than work with us on constructive solutions to industrywide challenges," Haurek said.
What does the lawsuit say about TikTok?
An 81-page complaint details how TikTok violates California’s Unfair Competition Law and the False Advertising Law.
The social media platform is supposed to be addictive, which is harmful to “the physical and psychological well-being of young users.” TikTok employees, including executives, “admit that they target young Americans,” the complaint said.
TikTok’s “business model is based on maximizing users’ engagement” with the platform, including how much time someone spends on the platform and how many times someone opens the platform in a day. For example, the For You feed provides people with “a stream of videos that TikTok’s recommendation system calculates will keep users on the platform.”
“TikTok designs and deploys exploitative and manipulative features to addict young users and maximize their time on its platform,” according to the complaint. “This is not an accidental byproduct of its efforts to grow its base of young users and increase its advertising revenues. Rather, addicting young users to its platform is a central pillar in its growth strategy — and one that TikTok has doggedly pursued notwithstanding the harm to those young users.”
Features that increase younger users’ time on the platform and promote excessive use and addiction include filters, which alter people’s appearance, and its infinite scroll, which allows users to watch another video by swiping up. Some features are described as preying on young users’ fear of missing out, and taking advantage of how people may experience a dopamine hit on the platform. For example, a user seeing their post receiving a like will make them want to return to TikTok to feel good again.
The complaint said TikTok is misleading the public that its platform “is safe and appropriate for young users” and its safety features don’t work as advertised. This includes features such as a 60-minute time limit for younger users and a feature that allows users to “start fresh” on TikTok to be free of their algorithm. Bonta described both as “empty gestures" during Tuesday's conference.
“TikTok misleads the public, particularly young users and their parents, into thinking that the platform is not designed for compulsive use and has effective tools to mitigate compulsive use, when it does not,” according to the complaint.
Another issue the complaint raises is that TikTok has collected the information of users under 13 without parents' permission.
Why is TikTok a concern for children's and teenagers’ health?
The features on TikTok that cause excessive and addictive use can lead to “increased levels of depression and anxiety disorders, reduced sleep, self-harm, suicidal ideation, and eating disorders,” for younger TikTok users, according to the complaint.
“Compulsive use correlates with many negative mental health effects, such as loss of analytical skills, memory formation, contextual thinking, conversational depth, and empathy, as well as increased anxiety,” the complaint said. “Compulsive use of the platform also interferes with essential personal responsibilities, like getting sufficient sleep, performing duties associated with work and school responsibilities, and connecting with loved ones.”
Up to 95% of children ages 13 to 17 use a social media platform, and more than a third say they use social media “almost constantly,” according to a U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory in 2023.
Another health concern flagged in the complaint was the loss of sleep, which can be especially problematic for youth, leading to “neurological deficiencies, dysregulated emotional functioning, heightened risk of suicide and many other health harms," according to the complaint.
Who owns TikTok?
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a private global company founded by Chinese entrepreneurs, USA TODAY reported. ByteDance is 60% owned by global institutional investors, 20% by the company’s founders, and 20% by employees, according to TikTok .
When was TikTok formed?
ByteDance acquired the app Musical.ly in 2017 and absorbed it into TikTok the following year, The Verge reported . TikTok’s Chinese counterpart, Douyin — also owned by ByteDance — debuted in 2016, USA TODAY reported.
Paris Barraza is a trending reporter covering California news at The Desert Sun. Reach her at pbarraza@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.
Paris Barraza is a trending reporter covering California news at The Desert Sun. Reach her at pbarraza@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: California sues TikTok for 'exploiting' young users on the app and misleading the public
Local News
