TikTok is once again facing legal trouble in the United States. This time, the action was taken by the attorneys generals in 13 US states, along with the District of Columbia. They have all filed lawsuits claiming the social network is causing harm to its teenage users.
The New York Times reports that the 13 states and DC claim to have internal TikTok documents that show that the company has created features that make it highly addictive to use. As a result, the states claim that it is causing harm among children. They alleged the addictive features in TikTok cause many teenagers to use the service late into the night, causing sleep problems and more issues.
The lawsuit claims TikTok, owned by China-based Bytedance, knows that its social network is addictive, but that it continues these features in order to make a profit off of the children that it allegedly harms. The lawsuit says this violates consumer protection laws.
Our statement on today"s Attorneys General lawsuits:
— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) October 8, 2024
"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…
In its official response, the TikTok Policy X account posted a message stating that it "strongly disagree with these claims" made by these new lawsuits. It stated that it has put in new safeguards for teenage users, and has removed underage users from access the service. It added:
We"ve 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.
TikTok is already facing a full-out ban of its service in the US, if Bytedance does not sell off the service to a new US owner. The two sides argued their sides of this legal case to a US appeals court in September, which could rule sometime by the end of the year.