Fourteen AGs sue TikTok, accusing it of harming children's mental health

Fourteen attorneys general filed lawsuits accusing the social media platform TikTok of damaging young users’ mental health and collecting their data without consent.

Fourteen attorneys general, led by officials in New York and California, filed lawsuits Tuesday accusing the social media platform TikTok of damaging young users’ mental health and collecting their data without consent. 

The legal broadside, organized by a bipartisan coalition of 14 law enforcement officers, alleges TikTok violated state laws by falsely claiming its service is safe for young people. The lawsuits were filed individually.

“Young people are struggling with their mental health because of addictive social media platforms like TikTok,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “TikTok claims that their platform is safe for young people, but that is far from true.”

The lawsuits are focused partly on what the plaintiffs call “addictive” features, including 24/7 notifications and video autoplay. The filings also concentrate on “dangerous TikTok ‘challenges’” and the collection of data about users under 13 without parental consent — an alleged violation of federal online privacy law.

In a statement, a spokesperson for TikTok said: "We strongly disagree with these claims, many of which we believe to be inaccurate and misleading. 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."

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/tiktok-sued-14-attorneys-general-rcna174395

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