What happened
A bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from 13 states and the District of Columbia filed lawsuits against TikTok on Tuesday, alleging that the social media app was addictive and harmful to the mental health of children.
Who said what
The lawsuits, each filed in state court, accuse TikTok of “knowingly contributed to a mental health crisis among American teenagers to maximize its advertising revenue,” The New York Times said. The app, which claims 170 million monthly U.S. users, was designed to trap children with addictive features like buzzing push notifications, endless scrolling and beauty filters that promote unhealthy body images, anxiety and depression, the attorneys general argue. The D.C. lawsuit calls TikTok’s algorithm “dopamine-inducing.”
The legal challenges against TikTok and other social media platforms, including YouTube and Instagram, are “part of a growing reckoning” aimed at protecting the mental health of young people, The Associated Press said. The coordinated lawsuits resemble how states “previously organized against the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries.”
TikTok said it “strongly” disagrees with the states’ “inaccurate and misleading claims,” and is “deeply committed” to protecting teens.
What next?
Yesterday’s lawsuits are “just the latest legal pressure facing TikTok,” CNN said. Notably, the company is fighting to reverse a total U.S. ban slated to start next year unless the app cuts ties with its Chinese owner ByteDance. The 14 attorneys general are seeking to bar TikTok from using the allegedly addictive features and to impose financial penalties and damages for users harmed by them.